In The Name Of The Father
by Skinfull
Summary: After being Missing for four weeks Mulder is found unconscious on the street after an anymous tip off. This is where we begin! COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

**Rating:** NC-17 for adult situations. (Sexy Scenes but also Implied rape.)  
  
**Classification:** XRA (With a big portion of MT)  
  
**Author's notes:** Lets say...for the sake of artistic licence...

Yes Mulders Landlord is called Mr Floyd...I may or may not have made it up! Mulders Mother is dead in this story and the timeline is significant only in the expanse of years gone by as opposed to the actual year. Also let it be known I have yet to actually see S8 & S9 (not by choice!) so I'm going to have to say nothing in those seasons happened...lets just say pretty much anything after Je Souhaite didn't happen not that there are any spoilers in this story... this information is for peace of mind only!

The story of Mulders time in captivity is a WIP and will be finished post haste! Consider it a prequel. This is a Stand Alone Fic.  
  
**_In The Name Of the Father by Skinfull_  
**  
**Georgetown Memorial Hospital  
7th December 2000  
3.10 AM**  
  
The double doors didn't stand a chance as Dana Scully hit them at full force, not bothering to slow down her charge into the hospital emergency department. They smashed against the walls scraping the magnolia paint and disturbing the quiet tension in the waiting room.  
  
"Where is he?" she asked loudly, approaching the desk and twirling round in search of someone who might help her. She slammed her hand down on the counter and glared at the attending nurse on duty. "I'm looking for Fox Mulder, he was admitted here about 2 hours ago? Where can I find him?" she bellowed without giving the nurse a chance to answer her.  
  
"Agent Scully!" Skinner came rushing over to her, his arms outstretched as he grasped her shoulders and turned her away from the dazed nurse. "He's in surgery at the moment."  
  
He guided her past all the waiting patients and through two sets of doors before placing her into one of the hall way plastic seats. Bending down next to her he held her hands that lay restlessly on her lap.  
  
"What happened?" her voice was low, her fear and anger battling for supremacy. "Who found him?"  
  
"I know as much...or as little as you do. I got here about 15 minutes ago...he was already in surgery."  
  
"What about his admittance file? Where is it?" Her voice took on a new tone of fresh anger as her mind reeled out the possibilities.  
  
"I've already asked for it and a nurse from the ER is bringing it down."  
As if on cue a small elderly nurse approached them, the rubber soles of her shoes announcing her arrival on the otherwise silent corridor.  
  
"Mr. Skinner?"  
  
"Yes, thank you." He took the file she offered and his lips tightened as he passed it onto Scully. She flicked it open immediately her eyes and fingers scanning the page, soaking up the list of meds he'd been given first as if it could warm her what injuries she could expect, then reading the treatments from the hospital's Triage to the surgeon's notes. Her eyes read through the bad scribbled comments and Skinner watched as she paled visibly before him. She took a deep shaky breath almost gagging on the all too familiar taste of the hospital cleanliness, her face lowering into her hands.  
  
"Scully? What is it?"  
  
"His left arm is broken in two different places, at the elbow and at the wrist...probably from handcuffs." Sitting up, she glanced back at the medical file then up to Skinners concerned but expectant expression. "They'll need to be re-broken and re-set correctly. Various head injuries to the frontal left lobe...some swelling but thankfully no clots."  
  
"There is something else isn't there..." His words hung in the air between them but she refrained from answering, not wanting to say it out loud, not wanting to make it any more real.  
  
"Lower colon injuries due to sexual trauma." Fresh tears fell silently as the file fluttered to the floor, the pages forgotten but their words still stinging sharply.  
  
Skinner sat next to her and placed a tentative arm around her shoulders. Without hesitation she turned into his broad chest and cried effortlessly, wetting his shirt in short sharp sobs. For a moment only her gentle crying permeated the silence, her tears falling for what she didn't know; her sobs racking her chest for what she did. She sat up running her hand over her cheeks to remove the traces of her tears as best she could.  
  
"He's safe now," Skinner said soothingly, his words seeming like platitudes even to him.  
  
"How did he get here?" She watched as he reached down to pick up the file and he flicked through the pages until he came to the admittance sheet.  
  
"An anonymous call from a phone booth on Jameson Street. Ambulance picked him up there unconscious. They were given his name and exact location." "We have to get a forensic team out there," she jumped up, now with action to be taken she pushed her emotions aside and forced Agent Dana Scully to the forefront. "We have to see if-."  
  
"Dana...I've got a team outside waiting for instructions. We'll get this bastard."  
  
She almost smiled at his reassuring cliché, but without the desire or the energy to do so she watched as he stepped away, pulling out his phone and barked out his commands in as loud a tone as he could afford. He had taken the file with him and she wondered briefly if it was to save her from reading any more.  
  
Beside her a door opened and a nurse in surgery scrubs walked out pulling a facemask off as the door closed behind her. She passed Scully with only a glance but sitting up, Scully watched as the door opened again this time emitting more people into the corridor. The last one to exit stopped before her and pulled his facemask under his chin.  
  
"Ms Skinner?" he asked his eyebrows arched into his hairline.  
  
"Dana Scully." She stood and smoothed down the front of her jumper.  
  
"We're you operating on Fox Mulder?"  
  
"Yes I was told to meet with a Skinner afterwards. I'm Dr. Rick Wolfe."  
  
"AD. Skinner has just gone to make a phone call. How is Mulder?"  
  
"We've reset his arm, the swelling on his face will go down and the scans show no real damage to his brain. The stitches to his lower colon will dissolve of their own accord but he will be in a lot of discomfort for a while."  
  
"He's going to be okay." Her words were more of a mantra than acceptance.  
  
"I can see a full recovery for Mr Mulder."  
  
"Full recovery?"  
  
"Full physical recovery. He has quite a long journey to go with no shortage of counselling. The staff psychologist will talk to him when he is more lucid."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"We could be looking at release in the next five to seven days."  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Wolfe. Can I see him?"  
  
"He will be in recovery for an hour or so, then transferred to a private room on the fourth floor. I'll leave word for them to call you when he is ready for visitors."  
  
He offered her a small smile and stepped around her walking back to the nurses' station. Slumping back into the uncomfortable plastic she watched as Skinner approached Dr Wolfe. Their eyes locked over the surgeons shoulder and Scully could almost tell exactly what was being shared. She stood as Skinner approached and her wan smile matched his own.  
  
"There is a forensic team out by the phone booth right now." He idly scratched his chest through the thick grey sweater searching for the right thing to say. "It sounds like Mulder is going to be okay."  
  
"His wounds will heal sir but I'm not sure that he will ever be okay."  
  
Georgetown Memorial hospital 10th December 2000 8.06 PM  
  
The snow swept in with her as she walked into the relative warmth of the hospital, stomping her feet on the rubber mat by the door to loosen the flakes that clung to her boots. Weaving through the winter flu customers, she unwound her scarf from her neck as she stepped onto the elevator and pressed the fourth floor button. The impending holidays seemed to do nothing for the crowds that were hovering in the hospital corridors, and she was thankful that Mulder was to be released in the next few days.  
  
He had spoken little since the day he woke up in the hospital; neither to her or the hospital assigned counsellor that visited him daily. His physical recovery was all but finished save for the cumbersome cast on his arm that restricted much of his movement. His strength was building up and his swelling had all but disappeared, leaving only a yellow blue bruise covering his temple and cheek to stain his paled skin.  
  
Standing outside his room she raised her arm to push the heavy door open and stalled to take a deep breath, but before she could enter her mobile rang in her coat pocket.  
  
"Scully."  
  
"Agent Scully. We've got a lead. The team is leaving in half an hour. A small farm on the outskirts of the city."  
  
"Who's taking lead?"  
  
"Agent Brian Jones."  
  
"Okay. Will you keep me informed?"  
  
"Of course. How is he?"  
  
"I'm just going in to see him now."  
  
"Well send him my best."  
  
"I will sir."  
  
Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she resumed her ritual with one hand on the door and the other on her chest. She felt her lungs expand with a deep breath taking some reassurance in the reality of it all. Pushing the door open slowly she stepped in and was surprised to see him lying on his side facing the window, his broken arm cradled by his legs. The room was eerily quiet, except for the wind blowing through the Venetian blinds as the breeze swirled around the room.  
  
She moved slowly towards the bed circling it so she could clearly see his face. She noted his closed eyes as her hand reached out to move a lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes, but as her fingers touched his clammy skin he lurched, jerking away from her touch, his eyes flying open. "Mulder, it's just me."  
  
His initial fear seemed to dissipate by the sound of her voice but he rolled away from her to lie on his back, being careful not to bang his arm off the side of the bed.  
  
"How are you feeling?" she asked walking over to close the window, trying to keep her hands from reaching out to grab him.  
  
"Okay." His voice was raspy and tender, his eyes darting around the room never meeting hers, never staying still. She approached the bed again, clinging to the metal bars at the side to stop herself from touching him.  
  
"Mulder-."  
  
Her voice was so calm and placid that he immediately know she was trying to talk, talk to him about stuff he hadn't yet spoken about but as his eyes raced to meet hers, the words she was trying to say died on her lips.  
  
"No...not now...not ever...leave it," he whispered through gritted teeth.  
  
He turned away from her, screwing his eyes tightly shut to hide the tears that sprang up without warning. She said nothing as she sat onto the heavy leather chair by his bed, her eyes falling onto his moving chest, watching the uneven breaths fill and empty from his lungs. Soundlessly his cries seemed to fill the room with despair, but it wasn't long before his breaths evened out and she realised he was asleep. Wanting to reach out to him to touch his arm, his hand, and his head...him. But knowing it was more for her own comfort than for his, she folded her hands onto her lap and sat back into the chair letting his mere presence soothe her.  
  
**FBI Headquarters **

**Basement Office **

**20th December 2000 6.15PM  
**  
Sitting at his desk she tapped the computer keys idly, watching her report end without violation of her distracted state. The rhythm of her fingers hitting the small plastic buttons seemed to do enough to bring forth the words, leaving her enough peace to wallow in her own thoughts. The unfamiliar sound of the elevator doors made her look up, her fingers hovering above the keyboard as she awaited her visitor.  
Steady footsteps made their way through the narrow hallway stopping at her door and it was with a little tension that the door was opened. She smiled mechanically at Skinner as he pushed the door further walking right up to the desk and facing her, his hands in his pockets.  
  
With his shirt sleeves pulled up and his jacket, she imagined hanging off the back of his chair in his office, she couldn't help but see the tiredness in his eyes, hidden only by worry.  
  
"Agent Scully. It's Friday. Why don't you get out of here?"  
  
"I'm just finishing off this report." Skinner reached out and twisted the screen to see what she was working on.  
  
"I'm not even going to look at this until the middle of January." She laughed at his simple admonition and nodded her head. "How is he?"  
  
"Angry. He's very angry and very tired."  
  
"How about the counselling?" Skinner walked around to her side of the expansive desk and leaned back against it, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"He's not talking. He's not talking to me, to his counsellor...to anyone."  
He closed his eyes, a moment of horror flashing over his stern features.  
  
"He's got leave until January 17th. Then pending evaluation..."  
  
"Evaluation sir that I'm not sure he'll pass."  
  
Not wanting to condemn the conversation any further, Skinner pushed himself off the desk and walked back to the door.  
  
"Go home Dana. Go home and get some rest."  
  
"You too sir."  
He pushed past the door and was about to close it but turned back to her.  
  
"If there is anything you need. Just let me know."  
She nodded her thanks without speaking, concentrating on pushing another wave of unbearable emotions down, down further than before, deeper than she wanted to know about. She switched off the PC and gathered her stuff, taking a few files into her case to work on at home. She had already declined a Christmas in San Diego with her family, wanting to be near for Mulder in case he called. He had been released from the hospital seven days ago and he had yet to call, but when he did she wanted to be close by.  
  
She shut off the light and made her way to the garage. Finding it eerily empty she hurriedly put her things on the back seat and climbed into the drivers side. Traffic was a nightmare but she didn't mind, allowing her mind to wander, letting her foot release the brake slowly from habit rather than concentration. Coming up to the lights, she paused to wait for the green signal and it was then that she saw him. Mulder sitting next to her, his face soft and smiling, his mouth moving with words and laughter but no sound emerging.  
  
She blinked tightly but refocused back on the seat to see he was gone. She jumped at the sound of the car horn beeping loudly behind her, and forced her limbs to manoeuvre the car onto the main road. She shook her head hoping to keep awake and frowned, checking the seat beside her with a quick glance. It lay empty and accusing, mocking her double checks in the slow traffic. Suddenly from the backseat her phone started to ring, it's consistent tone demanding immediate attention. She reached behind her to grab her coat, knowing it was in the pocket and cursed herself for putting it back there in the first place.  
  
The coat landed in a pile on the passenger seat as she fumbled for the phone, finally touching it. She pressed the call button and held it up to her ear.  
  
"Hello?" Static rolled over the line but she could hear no sounds. "Hello, who is this?"  
  
"Scu-." The voice was strangled and sounded like it was coming from underwater but she recognised it immediately.  
  
"Mulder...hang on...I'm on my way."  
  
She tossed the phone onto the other seat, her mind sharp as she turned illegally, making a u-turn on the road, ignoring the angry horn she left behind in her haste. It seemed like an age before she reached his apartment building but it didn't take her long to charge up the stairs and race to his door. Unsure whether she should pull her gun she hesitated outside, looking at the dirty old brass numbers sitting regally on the brown wooden door. Listening to the silence deride her beating heart she fumbled with the key inserting it into the lock just as a guttural scream rang from the other side.  
  
"Mulder!" she yelled punching the door open and slamming it closed behind her.  
  
The room was dark, with even the fish tank light switched off and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. She walked quickly into the living room finding it empty, but another scream propelled her into the bedroom. In the darkness she saw his shadow across the room huddled in the corner between the bed and the wall. Through the blinds, slots of dim light scarred the room, adding to the tension as she circled the bed to kneel down before him. His phone lay discarded on the floor beside him, and with his knees pulled up to his chest, his head was buried between his legs. He was wearing only a pair of shorts but his body was covered in a film of cold, clammy stale sweat.  
  
"Mulder..." Her voice as low as a whisper seemed to boom around the room but he made no move. Reaching out to touch him she felt him shivering beneath the light touch of her fingers. "Mulder...look at me."  
  
When he didn't move she pushed his head back against the wall and saw that his eyes had rolled back into his head, his shivering becoming convulsions.  
  
"Mulder!" Louder now she spoke forcefully, pulling his legs out from below him to make him lie flat on the ground. She rolled him over onto his side, bending one of his knees and straightening the other one to get him into the full recovery position. Careful of his arm in the cast, she leaned over him and held his body as it shook violently, threatening to buck her off him but only making her hold tighter. "Hand on Mulder, I got you...just hold on."  
  
She shook with him, her hands on his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. It was some time before the shaking subsided but she held him for a moment longer in the stillness. Sitting up, she rolled him back onto his back, but as he started to cough, dry heavy heaving, she rolled him back to his side in time for his lunch to make an appearance against his bed. Rubbing his back and making gentle soothing sounds was all she could do until his coughs dried up and nothing more came out. He rolled back of his own accord, wiping his mouth with the back of his good hand; he kept his eyes closed, throwing his arm over his face. "Mulder...get up."  
  
Scully got off the floor and hunched by him to help him up. But he ignored her outstretched hand in favour of his independence. As he stood she rose with him, her hands poised to catch him when she was sure he would fall. He managed to make it to the bedroom door but fell against the frame his chest heaving again.  
  
"C'mon."  
  
Scully paid no notice to his meagre protestations and led him to the bathroom where he dove for the bath. Kneeling on the white tiles with his head ducked into the wide tub, he felt the small lumps of half digested food travel from the bottom of his stomach, forcing themselves up his throat and exploding into his mouth with a pressure he couldn't contain. He closed his eyes against the torrent of vomit unable to stop it once it had begun, until finally his stomach had disgorged itself of all its contents.  
  
Coughing up bile and blood, he spat out the lazy remains that clung to the tacky lining of his mouth before sitting back against the doorframe. Scully was there a towel in her hand and he took it to wipe his face. She reached for the washbasin and filled a glass of water for him, which he took, still without words. Rinsing his mouth out, he spat the water into the bath before turning on the taps to empty it out. The dirty water swirled around the plug and he watched it with a fascination it didn't deserve.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"Empty." His eyes avoided hers and his hand fumbled with the tumbler in his lap. She knew he meant more then the lack of contents in his stomach.  
  
"You need to rest."  
  
She helped him get up and he was surprised at the weakness in his body, but the mere thought of how his stomach had just betrayed him made it twitch, so he pushed it away and focused on making it to the couch without falling. Scully helped him sit down and draped the heavy blanket over his shoulders. She rushed into the kitchen and retrieved a glass of water to leave on the table before him. When she returned he had slid onto the couch to lie down, huddled in a ball.  
  
"Mulder, I'm just going to clean up a bit...I'll be right back."  
  
Her hand squeezed his knee before she disappeared into the bedroom. He could hear her moving about and wished he had the strength to tell her to go home. Covers were being torn form his bed, and he listened to the familiar creek of his hot press opening as she searched for clean sheets. He heard running taps, the sounds dangerously close to his own liquid spray in the bath only moments before, but he managed to take a deep swallow of air to keep the remains of his stomach contents intact. He must have dozed off because suddenly she was kneeling before him, tears in her eyes as she watched him tenderly. He blinked his eyes quickly and she reached up to get rid of her own tears when she realised he had woken.  
  
"I changed your sheets. You should get to bed."  
  
He moaned with the sharp pain that travelled across his abdomen as he sat up and she followed him to the bedroom. The sheets had been pulled back and she left a clean pair of shorts on top. He couldn't help but smile at the gesture and sat heavily onto the cool clean sheets.  
  
"I'll just grab you a glass of water."  
  
When she was gone he managed to change into the shorts and was lying back on the bed when she returned. His chest felt heavy and constricted as if someone was sitting on it and every breath he forced past his lips stung all the way down to his lungs. Keeping his eyes closed he heard her place a glass on the locker beside his head and move around the room, the carpet doing little to disguise her heeled footsteps. Wanting to know what she was doing but needing to keep his eyes closed, Mulder lay still hoping she would think him asleep and leave.  
  
For a moment he heard nothing but the telltale sound of her soft breathing. He could place her standing by his head and resisted the urge to jump at her cool fingers brushing his warm cheek.  
  
"Mulder, I'm going down to the car to get something...I'll be back in a minute."  
So she intended to stay he realised with a surprising sigh of relief. The apartment door closed with a resonate thud, filling the room with an empty silence. His breathing became laboured and he felt his stomach constricting so he sat up to get to the bathroom. He couldn't lie back and watch Scully clean up after him again. Forcing his heavy limbs to co- operate, he managed to land with his shoulder against the wall and make his way to the bathroom. The clean smell of the disinfectant Scully had used to wash out the bath still clung impugning to the air as he kept his back to the wall and shuffled to the ground.  
  
He was in the midst of another bout of nausea when she arrived back to the apartment. Dumping her stuff on the couch, she rushed to the bathroom where his wails were coming from and leaned down next to him. He groaned in pain at the force of his queasiness and his back hitched with every heave of his stomach. Again it dried up and he coughed out the putrid remains. With a hoarse moan he rested back against the wall and took the towel she offered. Rubbing it over his whole face he avoided her concerned gaze.  
  
"Mulder, I should take you to the doctor."  
  
"No."  
His words were final and she knew there would be no discussion. He managed to get up off the floor and reached over to switch on the shower.  
  
"I'll clean it up Mulder, go back to bed." She rested her hand on his back, feeling it cold and clammy.  
  
His eyes closed over for a moment trying not to feel the warm sensation of her hand on him. Stepping around her he stumbled back to the bedroom and listened to the shower running as she cleaned up his mess again. A hot wave of embarrassment washed over him at the thought so he rolled over onto his side, his broken arm bent in a cast beside him. He looked at his bruised fingers and wiggled them a bit, liking the slight niggling pain it caused in his wrist. He wasn't sure how long she had been there for, but suddenly she was standing over him a frown encased deeply on her soft features.  
  
"Mulder, you need to take something to get your temperature down."  
  
She held out her hand where two aspirin sat awaiting his attention. Gingerly he took them and put them in his mouth, sipping from the glass of water she held in her other hand.  
  
"Thanks," he mumbled as his head landed back on the pillow.  
  
"Is your stomach still queasy?"  
  
"Mmm hmm." His eyes searched the ceiling for a familiar spot, landing on the corner over the window.  
  
"Will you let me call a doctor?"  
  
"No."  
For a moment she watched him, unsure whether she should call anyway but decided against it. She wanted to sit by his side, watch over him but she knew he wouldn't relax until she was out of the room. She walked over to his wardrobe and fumbled in it for a pair of sweats and a jumper. He watched her take out his grey bottoms and his Nicks sweatshirt then disappear out of the room. Frowning, he looked at the door and wondered where she was going until she arrived back a moment later wearing his clothes.  
  
"I'm going to be in the living room. Call me if you feel ill."  
  
He said nothing but pulled his eyes away from her face and back to his corner on the ceiling. She left the room, leaving the door open slightly and it wasn't long before he heard the familiar sound of her fingers tapping the keys on her laptop. The television was down low, a mere murmur against the silence and soon he found himself drifting off.  
  
Hands were everywhere, reaching out to him but not to help him; to touch him, stroke him, hurt him. Trying to roll away he found both his hands tied up and his feet bound to something cold and hard. A splash of water covered his face making him struggle to catch his breath but when he did he inhaled as much as he could, then pushed it past his voice box as hard and as fast as his body would allow.  
  
His scream was alarmingly loud, startling her so much she was unsure if she had heard it or not. Jumping up she raced into his room where his body was squirming beneath the quilt, his voice murmuring words she couldn't understand. She reached out to him, her hand landing on the centre of his chest but his recoiled from her touch. "Mulder, wake up, you're dreaming!"  
  
She called out to him but it had no affect only to disturb him further. He curled into a ball, oblivious of his arm in the cast and grabbed his head with both hands, his fingers tearing into his hair. His screams came short and sharp and it broke her heart to hear, but every time she reached out to touch him he bit out another deeper scream, shaking away from her. Soon the screams turned to sobs and his whole body moved with the effort of the tears that fell onto his clean sheets.  
  
"Mulder..." she said softly wanting to revive him but not to touch him again.  
  
"Leave me alone...all of you...leave me alone."  
  
He pleaded with the ghosts that taunted him, his voice low and full of an aching need to cry but not being allowed to. Still curled up tightly he eventually cried with his whole body, his hands gripping his hair, his knees digging into his chest and his back curved over so tightly, Scully could see each single vertebra all the way down to his coccyx bone. She stood by him crying tears of her own and watching his emotions unfurl before her.  
  
Sitting on the floor and leaning next to the bed, Scully pulled her own knees up to her body and rested her chin there, wrapping her arms around her legs in an effort to stop the pain. Her heart was bursting with the need to comfort him but she was powerless against these demons. Words escaped through his moans but still he was curled up, muffling the sounds as he rocked back and forth in a slow steady movement. "No...stop...please stop..."  
  
Unable to take it anymore Scully turned around to face him and sat on the edge of the bed. Carefully she wrapped her arms around him and lay in a small circle around his body, her arms reaching over his head and to his back. He stiffened immediately under her touch but as she rocked with him she could feel his body relaxing under the gentle motion. She didn't make a sound for fear of breaking his reprieve, but soon his grip on his own hair loosened and tension was released as he lay motionless and silent beneath her.  
  
They stayed like that until she felt him shiver from the cold. The sweat had dried against his skin making him colder than her. His skin was still clammy but she didn't think he'd take to kindly to a shower. Removing her body from his side she climbed off the bed and pulled the blanket up around him.  
  
The bed rolled under her small movements and Mulder suddenly became aware of a rush of cold air around his bare back where her arm had been resting. When the blanket was tucked around him he pulled it up to his chin and closed his eyes tighter against the vision of her standing beside him. He heard her walk away and stand by the door and wanted to call out to her to stay, but his voice made no sound and his eyes remained screwed shut.  
  
Scully walked slowly out to the living room and sat into the couch with a heavy emotional sigh. She rested back against the soft black leather, diluted with his smell and inhaled deeply. Fresh tears fell freely and she did nothing to stop their precious release. Lying down and pulling her legs up to herself, she pulled the heavy blanket around her body and cried without restraint.  
  
From the dark confines of the bedroom, Mulder could hear her barely audible cries but nothing he could do could make him move. His body was stuck, his mind reeling with images he didn't want her to see, his heart breaking with emotions he didn't want her to feel. Pulling the blanket up over his head, Mulder muted her cries against the quilt and shook with tears of his own.  
  
**The Office Of Assistant Director Skinner  
  
23rd December 2000 7.25 PM  
**  
"Mulder, come in." He met him at the door and held it open as Mulder walked in. Dressed casually in grey slacks and a light jumper, he had his arm in a sling with his leather jacket slung loosely over his shoulders.  
  
"You know you're not supposed to be in until the New Year." Skinner joked trying to lighten the obvious tension that seemed to follow Mulder into the wide office.  
  
"Yes sir I understand, but I wanted to talk to you about that."  
  
"Do you want more time?" Skinner sat down at his desk inviting Mulder to take a seat. "Something like that." With his good hand he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a sealed white envelope. "I am here to tend my resignation."  
  
Skinner was reaching out for the envelope that Mulder was passing to his over the expanse of his large desk, but his hand froze at Mulder's words.  
  
"Your resignation?"  
  
"I've thought about it for a long time...I've thought about little else," he lied. "I've made my decision."  
  
"Mulder you've been through quite a lot in the past two months. Wouldn't you rather come back to work in the New Year and see..."  
  
"Sir...I'm leaving. I understand the contractual needs to remain in my position for a resigned period of time, but I was hoping with the leave I have accrued, that we could come to an immediate release of my duties."  
  
"Have you spoken to Agent Scully about this?" Skinner saw the flash in his eyes as he played his trump card.  
  
"It is my decision to make." His voice was cold with anger.  
  
"Mulder, when I was-."  
  
"Save the feel good story." Mulder stood up and fixed his jacket.  
  
"Please respect my decision and accept my resignation."  
  
Skinner watched as he turned on a steady heel and walked out of the room into the hallway, for the last time. He ripped open the envelope and printed on the plain white paper was an official letter of resignation with Mulders broad signature at the end. With only a moment's hesitation he reached for the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Agent Scully. Can you come up to the office for a moment?"  
  
"Of course sir."  
  
As he waited for her arrival he read and reread the letter before him, all the while debating whether he was doing the right thing, interfering in the personal business of his agents wasn't exactly part of his job description. Scully bustled through the door her coat and case in her hand.  
  
"On your way home?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"I've just had a visit from Agent Mulder."  
  
"Mulder was here?" she glanced around the room as if she expected to see him sitting on the chair in the corner.  
  
"He came to give me this."  
  
Confused, she took the page he was holding out to her and with fluttering in her stomach, she looked down at the neat type spotting Mulders signature before reading the actual text. As her eyes discovered the content her frown deepened until it was a fully blown glare that she hit Skinner with.  
  
"What's this? Where is he?"  
  
"He just left. I know it's none of my business, but I understand he's made this decision with any discussion with you?"  
  
"No sir he never said a word to me." Never says much to me anymore she admitted silently.  
  
"Maybe you should talk with him before I process this."  
  
"Yes sir, thank you."  
  
She slipped the offending letter into her pocket and rushed out the door. The late evening traffic was light as she raced through the streets. Pulling up to his apartment, she all but abandoned her car on the path in her rush to confront him. Her fingers played with the folded page in her pocket as she drew strength from it, the strength she needed to force him to speak to her, to ignore the deadness in his eyes and urge him to reach out to her. Stepping off the elevator she saw that his apartment door was open. Her pace quickened and she raced over to see his landlord standing in the all but empty living room. "Mr Floyd?"  
  
"I already got rid of the stuff. Aint no more left," he barked without turning round.  
  
"Mr Floyd, it's me, Dana Scully. I'm looking for Mulder."  
  
"Mulder? Mulder? Mulder is gone." He talked around the butt of a cigar that clung to the corner of his lips.  
  
"Gone? Where is he gone?"  
  
"I dunno...but he left this for you Ms Scully." He passed her an envelope and walked past her out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.  
  
Holding the envelope closed in her hand she walked through the apartment staring at the spot where his dining table used to sit, at the empty space where his couch used to be and the now completely empty bedroom. All that remained was the fish tank and computer. Over at the window she checked the street for his car in a last ditch hope that he was still close by, but she saw only her own hap hazardly parked vehicle. Her finger slipped easily into the envelopes seam and she ripped it open, taking a deep breath before pulling the page out. The letter was hand written and signed at the bottom in his instantly recognisable autograph.  
  
_Scully,  
  
It's been a journey. A journey I'll never forget, no matter how much I try. Things have happened between us that will always stay with me, but other things have happened to me that will never leave us alone. I hope you can forgive me for leaving you, for not saying goodbye but it was too painful to look at you, to see the pity, to feel the shame. I couldn't do it, I couldn't face you anymore and know that is was me who was putting that look in your eyes, stealing your smiles and drowning your laughs.  
_  
_So I'm leaving. Or rather, I left. I knew Skinner would call you as soon as I left his office but it had already happened. I want you to take my fish; they might survive the move to your place and actually blossom in your care. My computer I wanted to give to the gunmen but they are out of town. I would appreciate it if you got my hard drive over to them.  
  
Don't come looking for me. Don't try to find me. I know you are already thinking of ways to get in contact with me but I will ask only this of you. I just want to be alone.  
Just remember I'll always be thinking of you Scully.  
__Love always, _

_Fox Mulder._  
  
She read it over again letting the words sink in fully. Standing in shock she quickly reeled over the possibilities of where he might have gone, who he might have told. Before she could let her body give into the all but overwhelming need to collapse, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled Skinners number.  
  
"Skinner, he's gone. He must have moved out today, his apartment is cleared and emptied."  
  
"Where has he gone?"  
  
"I don't know sir. Did he mention anything to you?"  
  
"No. Nothing."  
  
"I'm going to try contact some of his friends. Would you call his mother's house for me?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
Scully walked back out to the corridor almost bumping into the landlord in her hurry.  
  
"He told me you were going to take his fish tank. Should I get it delivered or will you take it now?"  
  
"Did he mention to you where he was going?"  
  
"No ma'am. Called to me this morning with a cheque for rent and costs and asked me to take all the furniture and sell it. He said the computer and fish tank were to be given to Dana Scully along with the letter. Something happened to him?"  
  
"I don't know." "Sounds to me like he's taken off. Something must have been troubling him."  
  
"Something..."  
  
"So should I have it delivered ma'am?" Floyd said after a moment of awkward silence.  
  
"Please. Thank you."  
  
Rushing out to her car she sped onto the road, ignoring the danger of dialling and driving she rang the office of the lone gunmen. But all she got was the answering machine. Regardless, she continued her journey and soon found herself banging on the door.  
  
"Frohicke? Byers?" she yelled loudly. "It's Scully, I need to talk to you."  
  
Her shouts were unheard in the empty office, but when her phone rang loudly in her pocket she pounced on it.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Agent Scully, I can't seem to get an answer."  
  
"Me neither. I think...I think he's gone. He left me a letter. Asking me not to look for him."  
  
"Do you want to drop it?"  
  
The static on the phone hung between them endlessly until she sighed into it.  
  
"Sir that decision was already made by Mulder." Hanging up her phone she walked slowly back to her car, ignoring the drizzling wet rain that dampened her hair but hid her tears in a thousand raindrops.

_A/NDon't worry this time we won't be looking at a yearly update like the last one! Chapter a day that's my new motto! I thought I posted this fic here before but it turned out to be a different site! So I thought I'd let it join the others here on ff.net.___


	2. Chapter 2

**Discovery Park Seattle, Washington **

**17th December 2004 5.40AM  
**  
The water was cold and did little to help his fingers move smoothly over the skin of the body below him. Loud banging could be heard and he cursed his son for his inability to understand the word "silently". The body moved a little dragging his attention back to the crumpled form that lay beneath his feet. He lowered himself to straddle the man lying beneath him and with his knees, holding the body in place, he poured the cold water over the closed face.  
  
Shock registered immediately with the body causing it to struggle to breath, but finally catching air in short sharp stabs of breath that covered his face in small puffs of air in the cold morning darkness. He fought against the restraints of the knees over his arms but it was useless, he could already feel his body shivering under the cool water. The bucket landed with a clatter behind him and he turned to call his son. Footsteps across the hardened mud approached dragging the long plank of wood behind it.  
  
"Here...hold this."  
  
He handed out the hammer to his son who slipped it into a brown leather tool belt. Fear registered in the eyes below him, but he placed his palm on his forehead and muttered beneath his breath words the shivering body recognised as Arabic. But before he could try to understand what was being, said the hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a sitting position only to push him back down onto the plank the son had slipped beneath him.  
  
From behind his hands were grabbed and held in place tied with an old frayed rope. He had a momentary reprieve at the thought that they were only going to use the rope, but it was dashed at the sight of the box of nails that sat by his shoulder.  
  
He wanted to scream but all the air he pushed past his throat came out silently, his lips stilled not opening into the wide yell and his head remained motionless against the wood.  
  
"Hail Holy Mary, mother of God."  
  
The first nail was driven through his wrist with a surprising lack of pain but then he realised it wasn't the only thing he couldn't feel. Nothing was registering as he tried to wriggle his toes, lick his lips or even blink. He could feel the warm blood seeping from the wound collecting in the palm of his hand and he almost welcomed the warmth.  
Soon the second nail went into the other wrist and the ropes were taken away. He heard the movements around him and tried to follow them with his eyes, but the paralysis seemed to stop even them from moving. Standing over his head looking down on him from behind, he was met with the cruel sneer on the all to familiar face but even the shock couldn't be registered on his stilled features. Hands reached down to him with light glinting of the metal in the small light from the torch in the son's hand. He could barely make out the spikes in the coiled metal until they came closer and were wrapped around his forehead. He wanted to scream with expected pain, but his face remained unmoving and the pain was nonexistent.  
  
"Like this Dad?" The son's voice was behind him but he couldn't see what he was talking about.  
  
"Yeah. Stick it in and up but not too far."  
  
He felt his body moving with a force from his left side but without the feeling of pain he couldn't tell what it was. Suddenly the whole world shook and he felt himself being dragged across the wet grass. A light rain began to fall and he blinked the drops from his eyelashes. Air rushed out of his lungs and he found his chest moving slowly with deep breaths. The ability to move his head returned with sharp stinging pain as he rolled his head against the wood, pushing the barbed wire deeper into his skull.  
He felt the wood moving and blinked his eyes again as they pushed the cross up higher and planted it in the hole that the son had just dug. His wrists tingled in pain as the feeling returned and he was surprised to feel his feet also nailed to the wood. His side burned with hot liquid pain with warm blood seeping from the open wound there.  
  
"Shall I crucify your King?"  
  
Looking down he saw his friend staring up at him, his bible in hand and his eyes open and smiling. He was scared and confused and he couldn't understand why he was doing this to him.  
  
"Lets get out of here Dad."  
  
He watched in despair still unable to call out, as the pain got stronger with every beat of his heart, he watched them walk away into the darkness.  
  
**Washington DC **

**17th December 2004 7.30AM**  
  
Most mornings on the cross-town journey to work, Dana Scully cursed Henry Ford for the mass production of the automobile. But this morning with heavy snow convincing most of the DC patrons to stay at home she cruised easily into work. Parking her car in the all but empty garage she jumped up and pulled her coat tighter around her body. A smile curved her lips as she strolled through the large white flakes, enjoying their cool sting as they melted against her forehead.  
  
As a girl she would have danced in the falling slivers of snow facing the sky with her mouth open wide in anticipation of the clear snowy taste, a humble gift from God to clear the land, her mother would call it. But as she approached the main entrance to the FBI building she decided against the childish dance.  
  
It was a cold Friday morning in Washington and with the heavy snowfall, she didn't expect to see the usual throng of agents inside, but she was surprised at the desertedness of the halls. Flashing her badge at the young security man she pinned her ID to her collar as she stepped through the metal detector.  
  
"Nice to see someone decided to come in." She looked up to see AD Skinner walking out of the communal coffee room by the reception shaking thick snowflakes from his jacket and juggling a steaming cup of coffee and his case in his hands.  
  
"Quiet?"  
  
"Morgue."  
  
She allowed a small chuckle to slip past her lips but as she caught up to him and he locked eyes with her, he saw no reaction to her mirth.  
  
"What case are you working up in ATF?"  
  
"Gleeson case. We're still at the surveillance stage. AD Jackson won't move on the warrant until we've collect a tonne of evidence." "Yes I was speaking to him yesterday. I hope you don't mind." They arrived at the bank of elevators and Skinner punched the button with the base of his palm.  
  
"Concerning the Gleeson case?"  
  
"Somewhat."  
  
Her silence was enough to make him wary as he stepped into the elevator car and held the door open for her to follow. She hesitated for a second, not long enough to make an issue but just for him to acknowledge her delay.  
  
"A case has come to my attention and I wanted to assign you to it." He had said it so non-chalantly as he reached out and hit the buttons for the third and fifth floor that it took a second for his words to sink in.  
  
As the car started with a slight jolt, she whipped her head round to face him fully. He glanced up at the lighted floor numbers on the top of the door and prayed for the elevator to speed up.  
  
"A case?"  
  
"An X file."  
  
"The X files were shut down over three and a half years ago, Sir." She enunciated the title so stoically that it left no doubt in his mind as to her displeasure.  
  
"There may not be a department for the X files Scully, but that doesn't mean that all the cases disappeared."  
  
With a resonate ding the elevator came to rest on the third floor and he stepped out keeping his foot in the way of the door. Steam from the coffee curled in front of him in danger of disrupting his vision, but he ignored it lowering his hand to get it out of the way.  
  
"What did AD Jackson say?" Skinner held back his triumphant smile knowing that if her curiosity had been piqued she couldn't be too mad at him.  
  
"He agreed to release you and Agent McLane to take a look at the case."  
  
"What is it anyway?"  
  
"A murder in Seattle. Killer left a note. The local PD are stumped and they requested help."  
  
"I don't know, sir."  
  
"Think about it, talk to McLane. Come up to my office at 2 and we'll talk."  
Releasing the heavy doors he stepped back and watched as they closed with a heavy thud. She rode up to the fifth floor and quietly stepped through the empty bullpen making her way to the large office she shared with her partner David McLane. She was thankful David hadn't made it in yet as she rested her case on the desk and slowly slid into her chair.  
  
An X file, she thought with a sigh. Three years she spent working diligently for the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Department, burying herself in her work in an effort to forget the X files and then she finds one handed to her on a silver platter. And now she realised it was all for nothing. She'd never forget, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to.  
  
With her elbows on the table and her hands held up to cover her face, her only warning of David's impending arrival was the tuneless whistle he seemed to carry everywhere. He bustled through the office door wrapped in a cold breeze that dissipated quickly in the heated room.  
  
"Brrrrr," he said loudly with a smile. "It is dammed cold out there Dana."  
  
"I noticed."  
  
"And did J Edgar declare a holiday and not tell us?" he continued oblivious to her sombre mood as he tossed his coat onto the coat rack.  
  
"Come on, don't tell me you weren't tempted to stay in bed?" she asked forcing a smile to curve her lips.  
  
"Of course I was but I am the responsible type! I braved the wintery conditions to spend the day in here listening to Gleeson's phone calls with you Dana!"  
  
"Janet gone back to Boston for the Weekend?" "Yes." He slumped heavily into his chair with an exaggerated sigh making her laugh.  
  
Turning on his computer he worked silently for a while before standing and declaring it time for tea. In all the years that they had worked together, no matter the situation or the location David always found time for tea at 11.30. He scratched his chin as he crossed the room and left without a word. The bull pen had remained empty with most Agents opting to call in or go straight to field assignments, so it wasn't long before he returned placing a coffee in front of her and sitting on the corner of her desk.  
  
"So do you want to tell me about it?" he urged, blowing the steam away from his cup as he took a long sip.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What ever is playing on your mind?"  
  
Her mind reeled with possible defensive remarks but her lips didn't seem to want to co-operate. Holding the cup with both hands she leaned back in her chair and glanced up at him.  
  
"I spoke with AD Skinner this morning."  
  
"Skinner?"  
  
"He asked me to look at a case...us to look at a case." David nodded his head with a little sway, rocking it like a dashboard toy.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I told him I'd think about it. Jackson has given us the all clear to take it if we want. He says that we'll need a lot more evidence on Gleeson before he looks for the warrant, and that Keats can head it up for a while."  
  
"Nice to know they have our replacements already lined up." She smiled at his joke and sipped her hot coffee again, savouring the sour taste and searching for the right words. "What kind of case is it?"  
  
"Murder case...an X file."  
  
"You don't want to take it?"  
  
"I'm not sure I want to go down that path again David." She put her cup on the table and dry washed her face with both hands.  
  
"It's been four years since he left Dana."  
  
"Doesn't make it hurt any less." Her voice was so low that he strained to hear it, but as he realised what she said he couldn't argue. What little Dana had shared with him had been painful for her and he wouldn't do anything to make her go through it again. Letting the silence envelop them for a moment, he gave her enough time to reign back in her emotions before standing and placing a warm gentle hand on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.  
  
"What ever you decide Dana. I'll back you either way." She covered his hand with her own and smiled up at him with watery eyes.  
  
"Thanks David." He gave her another little squeeze before leaving and closing the door behind him.  
  
The silence blared in her ears making her all the more aware of how alone she felt. Even after four long years without him she could still smell the faint hint of his cologne, still feel the warm welcome weight of his hand resting on the small of her back, and hear his low husky laugh very caressing her ears. His ghost haunted her every night, tempering her dreams and thoughts without release.  
  
Maybe it was time she fought back she decided as she reached for her coffee and sipped it again. Maybe it was time she did some haunting of her own.  
  
**Georgetown Apartment **

**17th December 2004 8.05 PM**  
  
Scully raced from the car through the crunchy snow and let herself into the relative warmth of her apartment. Slamming the door, she dropped her case by the couch and pounced on the ringing phone.  
  
"Hello?" she said breathlessly.  
  
"Hey the caller is supposed to be the heavy breather not the receiver!" "I was running in from the snow, David."  
  
"Sure Dana. I wont keep you I just wanted to let you know I spoke with Detective Gary Shane from the precinct in Seattle and he is delighted that we will be coming. He's arranged for accommodation to be ready for us and a rental at the airport."  
  
"Doesn't he know the bureau usually handle all that?"  
  
"He insisted Dana. Anyway I better get cracking if I want to make the flight. See you at the airport."  
  
She hung up the phone and paused for a moment, her hand frozen on the receiver. The day had passed in a blur after her conversation with Skinner. Having decided to take the case, both she and David went up for the review in Skinners office and agreed on a plan of attack. Although it was Skinner who requested her presence on the case, he seemed almost reluctant to give it to her in the end.  
  
The blue light from the fish tank blinked on and off dragging her attention back to the room. She walked over and tipped in a little food watching as the small fish raced to the surface to grab what they could before she raced herself to the bathroom to shower.  
  
After changing and packing, she locked her apartment and slipped a small note under her neighbour's door to let her know she'd be gone and that the fish would need to be fed. It was a tough drive to the airport and she was glad when it was over, half expecting the flight to be cancelled due to the weather. David met her by the check in desk and they went straight to the departure after handing in their luggage.  
  
"You okay? You seem a little distracted. Second thoughts?"  
  
"Second, third, tenth...a million!" He slipped a heavy arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him as they queued to take their seats.  
  
"Don't worry Dana."  
  
"I'll be fine. So what was Det Shane like?" she asked as she slid into the window seat and he stowed their coats over head.  
  
"It seems the Seattle police force are up in arms over this case." "What do you mean?" Her gaze that had been drawn to the irregular patterns the falling snow was making on the thick Plexiglas window turned to him, as he got comfortable in the small seat. At a healthy 6'2, David often complained that the Bureau should pay for first class tickets to accommodate his needs but seemed disinclined to do so today.  
  
"Two Detectives on the case arguing as to the methods to take on the investigation."  
  
"One wanted to call the Bureau?"  
  
"The other didn't." He said turning to face her with his head leaning against the top of the headrest. "You look tired Dana. Why don't you get some sleep?" She smiled at him and couldn't help but relax a little with his wide frame all but protecting her from the other passengers.  
  
"No that's okay. I wanted to read through the case file."  
  
"Okay well I got a shoulder here that has your name on it if you change your mind."  
  
Scully reached into the pocket of the chair in front of her and pulled out the small case file to read. Victim named Jared Wilks aged 33. Died from severe head wounds after a beating with several blunt objects. She flicked through to the back of the folder to see the coroner's photos of the body and a pile of rocks that sat next to it.  
  
Her eyes scanned the photo seeing the open and glazed eyes stare back at her making her turn back to the report. The victim had been missing for 12 nights before a jogger on the beach uncovered the body. Nailed to the victim's chest was a small metal plate with an inscription carved neatly into its centre.  
  
"Let he who is without sin, Cast the first stone." Without realising it her fingers reached out to touch the small printed words on the smooth white paper, her lips miming the words as she read it over and over again.  
  
"David did you..." Glancing up to address him she saw his eyes had closed over and his mouth hung open a little. After his offer to let her sleep, it was he who gave in to the tiredness and it made her smile as she went back to reading the file.  
  
**The Sleepy Hallow Inn Seattle, Washington. **

**18th December 2004 8.06 AM**  
  
"I haven't slept that well in ages!" David declared as they walked from their rooms to the black rented sedan. He held the door open as she sat in and quickly raced through the light rain around to the driver's side.  
  
"Was it the pastel colours? Or the soothing floral print on the duvet? Perhaps the nature scene paintings?" she jibed hiding a yawn.  
  
"I don't know and I don't care none either!" he said laughing with her as they drove to the police station. He was delighted to see her in a marginally better mood, and even though she had immaculately applied her make up. They had worked together long enough for him to be able to see through any façade she might put up in an effort to hide her tiredness. She stifled a second yawn as they pulled into a car space and walked into the station.  
  
"Detective Gary Shane?" David asked the desk sergeant.  
  
"He's in interview room one at the moment. But he's on his own so you can go right on in. Down the hall second on your left."  
  
David glanced at Scully as they walked away and he offered her a small smile. Knocking lightly before opening the door he was surprised at the force from the other end that pulled it open and out of his hand.  
  
"Det Shane?"  
  
"Yes, yes...Gary Shane. Are you from the FBI?" a heavyset man in a badly fitted suit approached them eagerly, holding out his hand.  
  
"Special Agent David McLane and this is Special Agent Dana Scully."  
  
Their hands were shaken vigorously by Shane who ushered them back out to the station lobby.  
  
"There has been another murder."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Body was found this morning out in Discovery Park."  
  
It was a quick drive to the park and Shane filled them in on what little he'd found out about the murder scene. It was bustling with police activity already cordoned off with bright yellow police tape. A young officer held it up as they walked through and Scully watched as she spied David straying over to the coroner, retrieving his ever-present note pad from his breast pocket. She couldn't suppress the smile that curved her lips slightly as she turned her attention back to Shane. They weaved their way through the cars and trees to walk into an open hilled green area the sight of which stole her breath away. On the top of the middle hill stood a large crucifix, the victim, as of yet unknown, nailed to it,  
  
Her feet suddenly felt heavy, as her eyes took in the battered body complete with crown of barbed wire and bloody wound to his side. As if sensing her shock, Det Shane gently touched her elbow.  
  
"You read about it but it aint nothing till you see it."  
  
The warm clasp of his fingers seemed to jolt her back to business. Four officers were just lowering the crucifix to the ground as they approached and she stopped almost 10 feet away. They lay it flat on the top of the hill and stalled as one by one they walked away, save for one man who hunched by the victims head, examining more closely the crown of barbed wire that was coiled tightly around his head, piercing the skin in different areas.  
  
"Do we have an identification?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper.  
  
"We're running prints but the forensic team just gave us the go ahead to move the body."  
  
"I'd like to do an autopsy."  
  
"We have a staff pathologist-."  
  
"No I'd like to do it if that's okay." Her voice was stern but her eyes remained transfixed on the body before her.  
  
"Agent Scully?"  
Turning, she spotted David rushing over to her and noted the moment his eyes saw the victim. His face visibly paled but he regained his composure commendably as he turned to her.  
  
"I spoke to the coroner about a facility for your autopsy. He said he'll arrange it and call us when it's ready."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Who found the body this time?" he asked Shane as the three made the final few steps to stand over the body. The hunched figure remained at the head one latex gloved hand carefully touching the coil of barbed wire.  
  
"An anonymous tip," Shane said ominously.  
  
"A body is crucified in a city centre park and left for what looks to be at least over 20 hours...and the only witness is an anonymous tip?" Scully's voice was incredulous with disbelieve at the facts before her. "You're telling me no one saw this man here?"  
  
Shane looked sheepishly at the man who was bent before them but slowly the stranger stood up, keeping his back to his now rapt audience as he peeled the gloves off.  
  
"The eyes sometimes see what they want to see regardless of the facts before them."  
  
Expecting a quick retort from Scully the brunt of which he'd often been on the receiving end of, David turned to her only to see the blood drain from her face, taking her frown with it and leaving her with an expression of disbelief. The voice was so hauntingly familiar to her it made her breath catch in her throat with an audible gasp as he turned to face them.  
  
"Detective Williams I presume?" David said extending his hand.  
  
"This is Special Agent David McLane and Special Agent Dana Scully from the Washington DC Office," Shane said indicating each one in turn.  
  
"Frank Williams." After shaking hands with David, Williams reached out to Scully who was stood still, staring at him, her eyes unblinking, frozen and confused. His hand hovered between them for a second before he reached it up to scratch an out of place goatee; a rueful expression on his face. "Any more plates?" David asked stepping towards the body in a physical attempt to pull the attention away from his partner. With a final lingering look at Scully, Williams turned with him towards the body, a surreptitious glance falling over the tall FBI Agent beside him.  
  
"Yes." He pointed to the small plate nailed over the victim's head on the cross. "Shall I crucify your King?"  
  
The conversation carried on without her input as she stood silently on the outskirts of reality, words swimming past her without depth or meaning. All she could see was the oddly recognizable grey eyes, knowing something was wrong but unable to figure it out. His voice sang a song in her head she longed to hear for so long and yet she could do nothing to answer it.  
  
"And no leads were recovered by the forensic team?"  
  
"Nothing obvious. A lot of stuff is still being checked out," Williams turned to face David fully, his hands resting languidly on his hips as if he was bored with the conversation.  
  
"I understand. It's a huge process." David glanced over at her and a wave of worry washed over him at the stiff stance she was holding, her mouth closed tightly almost hiding her lips completely. "The phone call, was it recorded?"  
  
"All calls to the emergency board are recorded," Shane stepped in eager to give something to the group. "It was traced to a phone booth at the entrance to the park."  
  
"No prints found there?"  
  
"This is a park." Williams's anger was obvious, David's calm tone of voice only aggravating him. "I don't know how it goes in Washington but a lot of people visit this park on a daily basis, a lot of them use the phone."  
  
"Maybe not so many people visit it, if it took over a day for the body to be discovered."  
  
Williams shifted his weight onto the other foot as he took a breath in through his clenched teeth, but before it could escalate further David's mobile rang. "Excuse me." He stepped out of the group and walked towards a clearing, one hand holding the phone to his ear, the other gesturing in circles as he walked. Shane glanced over at Scully who had lowered her gaze to the body before her.  
  
"We'll have that ready for you as soon as we can Agent Scully."  
  
"Thank you eh, Det...Shane." Without affording him another glance she turned on her heel and walked past Williams back towards her car taking more than a few deep-steadying breaths.  
  
With her heart racing, thudding mercilessly against her chest, she sat into the car and watched through the rain rivulets on the windscreen as Detective Williams headed for a different car parked near a crowd of reporters. An officer approached him, handing him a sheet of paper. They laughed about something she'd never hear and her heart lurched at the sight of his smile. Her deep breaths were shaky but stopped suddenly as his head whipped round and their eyes locked. He paused in the rain, his car door hanging open and with one foot in it he looked straight through the crowds spotting her with ease in the passenger seat of the car. For a moment she wondered if he would approach her but with an almost imperceptible nod he stepped in and drove off.  
  
"Dana!" David said through the glass and with a sharp knock making her jump her hands flinching off her lap. She rolled down the window and he leaned in a deep frown on his face. "You okay? You seem a little out of it."  
  
"I'm fine." Her tone of voice left no room for argument, so even without believing her he let it be.  
  
"I was speaking to the coroner and he said the body will be ready for autopsy at St Mary's in half an hour."  
  
"Good."  
  
"I'll drop you off."  
  
He walked around the car and sat in, pulling away without another word. Scully watched the unfamiliar buildings go by, all of it suddenly taking on more meaning. Another city...another state.... why Seattle? She thought repeatedly until her head spun with questions she was afraid would never be answered.  
A warm hand curled around her trembling fingers and she looked down in confusion only to see David offering what little comfort he could. Out the window she could see the entrance to the hospital and she realised she had missed the complete journey.  
  
"Dana...if this case is too much..."  
  
"No. The case is fine."  
  
"What's wrong? I know something is wrong."  
  
"David please just-," she began trying to pull her hands out from beneath his, but he gripped them tighter cutting her sentence off.  
  
"Don't insult me with platitudes you know me better than that...and I you." She could tell he was angry but the words hadn't quite formulated in her own mind, the explanation, the possibilities were so astounding to her she was afraid to face them.  
  
"David...let me figure it out for myself before you drag it out and psychoanalyse it to death."  
  
She pulled her hands away from him and climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind her. There was nothing David could do but watch her small form rush into the hospital. He sighed and turned the car back on driving it back to the precinct.  
  
He found it teeming with reporters eager to get the scoop on the murders, many of them speculating on the serial killer identity, shouting names to the police who walked by. In his dark suit and pale blue shirt, with navy tie, David strolled by them without much hassle, flashing his badge to the officer on the door to gain entry.  
  
"Agent McLane?" The desk sergeant called out to him as he walked by.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Det Shane is in his office...wants to see you as soon as you get in."  
He pointed a large arm across the room where David could make out the frosted glass windowed office with two figures pacing behind it. Cautiously he approached hearing the muffled words, amongst them his name.  
  
"I can't work with the FBI Agents, Gary. I wont work with McLane."  
  
"I need you on this one Frank, you can't drop the case now." He could hear Detective Shane saying earnestly before knocking lightly on the door. It swung open with a whoosh of air and she saw Williams and Shane standing shoulder to shoulder on the other side.  
  
"Gentlemen."  
  
"Agent McLane. Isn't Agent Scully with you?" Shane said exchanging a swift glance with Detective Williams.  
  
"She's gone to perform the autopsy. I was hoping to listen to the phone call recording."  
  
"Think we missed something?" Williams challenged.  
  
"No. But maybe you weren't looking for it."  
  
"Listen, we're all on the same team. We all want to catch this guy,"  
  
Shane said placing a hand onto Williams's chest and pushing him back.  
  
"That's all I want," David said sincerely.  
  
Williams brushed Shane's hand away and stormed out of the room, wishing for a thick door he could slam but settling for a swing one to bash against the wall.

_A/N: Okay this time the delay was not my fault...but I broke my hand and was out of service for a while! :) "Chapter a Day Keeps the Reviewer at Bay!"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Seattle General Hospital **

**Basement Morgue Laboratory. **

**18thDecember 2004 7.05 PM  
**  
Always her least favourite part of the autopsy Scully blew the air up her face to move that last annoying strand of hair that insisted on tickling her cheek as she sewed the Y-Incision closed. Pulling the wire tightly, she made sure it was sealed and even before knotting the thick blue twine and cutting it off. Considering the body would be clothed for the burial or cremation she often wondered why she took such care with the sewing. Care to make sure it was tidy, clean and sealed. With a wry smile she ran her gloved hand over the stitches, searching one last time for imperfections before placing the paper garb over it and wheeling it back into the morgue storage. As she removed her gloves and facemask and tossed them into the trash, her phone rang loudly in her coat pocket that had been draped over a chair by the door. Not recognising the number on the ID she answered it cautiously.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Dana, It's David. I'm calling from the precinct."  
  
"How is it going?"  
  
"Nothing. The tapes are useless."  
  
The static on the phone swirled between them for a moment and Scully felt a pang of guilt at her earlier outburst, but knew to speak of it would be to make an issue of it.  
  
"How did the autopsy go?" he asked into the silence.  
  
"It will be tomorrow before the blood work gets back but I see no signs of drug abuse, no pin pricks from injections, no bruising or muscle tearing that would indicate that he had been tied up or forced."  
  
"Any sexual trauma?"  
  
"There was some scratches on the inside of his thigh but I would be hard pushed to say it was due to rape, or for that matter consensual intercourse."  
  
"The first body was found to have marks and bruising that would indicate rape, but the autopsy didn't go any further into it save for mild external examination."  
  
"With minimal external evidence I made no further examination either."  
  
"I see. Oh I think our presence here is being felt more than we realise."  
  
"What do you mean?" She was untying the surgical scrubs from behind her with one hand but her hand froze at his words, a mental image of Det Williams watching her before he got into his car flashed before her. "It seems that Detective Williams isn't too fond of the FBI. Especially me."  
  
"Oh?" Afraid to move she listened carefully to his next words.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it, he'll learn to live with it. So are you done? Do you need me to pick you up yet?"  
  
"I eh, I have some paperwork to do first. I'll just get a cab back to the motel."  
  
"No Dana, let me pick you up," David pleaded.  
  
"I have tons of reports to fill in and I'm going to be here for a while. I'll give you a shout when I get back."  
  
"Okay. Call me if you change your mind."  
  
She was smiling as she put her phone back into her coat and turned towards the changing rooms. The shower she took was warm but offered little comfort as she battled with her mind to regain control of her thoughts. The brown goatee that seemed out of place, the dull grey eyes that used to shine bright green under the light of the slide projector and the strong broad shoulders that still stood tall if a little stiffer.  
  
Wringing her hair out she turned off the water and stepped out; wrapping her towel around her body she padded softly out to the changing room and sat heavily onto the bench. Sitting still watching the steam curl off her body, she shivered uncontrollably almost enjoying the sensation of goose bumps rising up her arms and shoulders. But as a shiver danced across her back she stood and dressed quickly.  
  
The room plunged into darkness as she hit the light switch with the palm of her hand and she paused a moment in the silence, her heart bouncing in her chest. She gritted her teeth and fixed her coat lapels before walking through the lab, to the reception to call a cab. The med student on night shift smiled warmly at her, happy for the company as Scully waited for her lift.  
  
After only a few moments of stilted conversation the bright lights of the taxi shone through the windows accompanied by a loud bang of his horn. Scully pulled her coat closed and hunched her shoulder before pushing past the large double doors. The entrance to the hospital was lined with a floral garden and several benches. She spied her taxi waiting by the curb; the engine running and she hurried her pace in the light snowfall, with anticipation of the heat that awaited her in the car. But as she glanced up to check the distance left she spotted a figure sitting on one of the benches. It turned towards her at the sound of her perfunctory footfall but she tore her eyes away fixing them on her target, the door handle to the back of the taxi.  
  
One gloved hand reached out to take the handle but she turned back to the figure only to see him standing, his arms hanging loosely by his sides and his eyes boring into her. He visibly shivered before her and she wasn't sure if it was because of her or the cold. Her heart stopped as he closed the distance between them with three agonizingly slow steps, his grey eyes steady his hands shaking.  
  
"Scully..." her name was but a whisper almost stolen by the wind but she grasped it tightly, holding onto it for dear life. Her eyes watched his mouth curl around her name, his goatee making his bottom lip seem even fuller than she remembered. Slowly her eyes travelled over his face until finally their eyes met, blue crashing against grey, confusion and hurt hammering between both of them. "Scully." He said her name again, this time louder.  
  
She forced a deep stinging breath past her lips and into her lungs filling them wide and slow, all the while willing the threatening tears into the pit of her stomach. She stepped back from the barrage of emotions he was giving to her all of a sudden realising her heart hadn't stopped and it was beating faster and louder than ever before.  
  
"Dammit Scully...say something." Her face was pale and thin, more so then he remembered but then it had been four years, he chastised himself silently.  
  
"Mulder."  
  
His name her voice; it was all he could do not to break out in joyous tears, having longed to hear her utter his name. But nothing he imagined could have prepared him for the husky whisper she emitted.  
  
The snow was forgotten swirling between them, sprinkling their hair and shoulders with delicate flakes. But as he moved his hand, lifting it up to touch her cheek a loud horn from the taxi made them both jump, startling her out of the daze and she stepped back closer to the car. "Hey lady you want a lift or not?" Her eyes darted to the driver then back to Mulders unfamiliar face, confusion claiming sanctuary across her worried features.  
  
"Come with me," he whispered but she shook her head in short sharp shakes.  
  
"No...no I have to..."  
  
"Scully." He reached his hand out to her his palm open and facing the sky, hoping she'd take his invitation, but she stared at it blankly. "We have to talk."  
  
"I'll meet you at the hotel Mulder." He nodded silently, retrieving his hand, placing it into his pocket.  
  
"The Sleepy Hallow right?"  
  
"Yeah. Room twenty four."  
  
She bustled herself into the cab sinking into the warm air, wanting to watch him fade away as the driver took off, but forcing her eyes to stare straight. He stood still as the cab left, watching its lights long after they had disappeared.  
  
"Lovers quarrel?" the driver asked with an exuberance Scully could have lived without.  
  
"He's not my lover. He's not even my friend."  
  
Taking her tone as hint enough the driver concentrated on driving through the snow, wishing suddenly that he had taken the direct route instead of the scenic expensive way. Her head spun with a million thoughts of a million outcomes. She'd imagined what would happen if she met him again but now with the confrontation looming closer, her mind seemed to have given up on how to handle it. For so long she looked and for so long she failed only to have him walk back into her life like this. Her anger grew as she thought of how he would have known she was arriving but she had no idea, no preparation. For a moment she contemplated calling Frohike to see what background he could find out on Frank Williams but she decided against it, wanting to hear Det Frank Williams story first. With a scoff, she pushed aside her growing tears and focused on the linear patterns the sleet made on her window. Her hand fumbled for her phone and she dialled AD Skinners number before cancelling the call and shoving the mobile back into her pocket. Anger again rising in her throat as she tried without success to ignore the concern and delight she could feel bubbling in her stomach. The lights on the motel suddenly came into view and all reservations she had about remaining calm were thrown out the window.  
  
She paid the driver and walked past the reception towards her room, shuffling her keys to get the right one ready. Looking up her breath was stolen at the sight of him leaning lazily against her door, his hands fiddling with his tie. He looked up as she approached a crooked half smile playing on his lips, testing her attention. He stepped aside for her to open the door but her hands froze making her drop the keys. He watched patiently as she swiftly bent to retrieve them then tried again. When she dropped them the second time his hand came out to stop her from reaching them.  
  
"Here let me." He was standing directly behind her and his voice; a mere whisper, kissed her ears. She seemed to flinch at his touch so he released her and grabbed the keys from the ground. He reached around her, not bothering to move his feet, enjoying the closeness of her body as he slotted the key into its hole and turned the lock. The door opened a fraction as he took his hand back letting it rest on her elbow. She pushed it open further and walked quickly in, wanting to be rid of his body heat and intoxicating essence. She busied herself removing her coat and hanging it into the wardrobe when she heard the door closing and sensed rather than saw him standing by it, watching her intensely. Taking a deep breath she forced her heart to steady as she turned to face him. He stood tall, his hands still hanging limply by his sides. She noticed his hair was black, suspiciously black, almost matching the colour of his goatee. His eyes, grey instead of the green she remembered so vividly, but the wide jaw, the unmistakable nose, the small mole on his right cheek bone were all there.  
  
"It is me." He seemed to wait as she scanned him with her eyes, noting the long study of his hair colour and the slight frown at his eyes. "They are lenses I had made. Finally got rid of the glasses."  
  
"And the colour." Her voice had more bite than she intended but she wasn't sorry. "What are you doing here Mulder?"  
  
"Working."  
  
"Detective Frank Williams?"  
  
"I had to do something." He looked away for the first time, pulling his over coat off roughly and piling it onto a chair beside the door. She noticed he was shivering and his shirt was damp.  
  
"How long were you waiting out side the hospital?"  
  
"Since I saw you walk in." His voice was beginning to shake now; the adrenaline from seeing her was wearing off and the effects of the cold wet snow was finally getting through to his senses.  
  
"Mulder you're freezing."  
  
"Funny thing about snow..." he stammered through chattering teeth.  
  
She pulled the blanket off the bed and went to drape it over his shoulders. He didn't move as she reached over him, making her stretch to her fullest reach.  
  
"Why?" With her hands on his shoulders holding the cotton blanket tightly around him her voice travelled up to him with ease, holding out her heart to him, showing him her vulnerability in all its glory.  
  
"I had too." He whispered, looking down to her, wanting to smile but holding it all back. "I had to leave."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say goodbye?" Her heart was slowly being reeled back in and he watched achingly as she started to hide it from him, replacing it with a stoic expression, her grip on the blanket loosening. He covered her hands with his own, keeping them in place, trapping her.  
  
"Because it hurt too much...because I knew you'd never let me go...because I never wanted to look in your eyes and see the hurt I see now."  
Her lips trembled under the emotion he was dragging through her heart and body and he released her hands pulling the blanket around them both. She buried her head in his chest, his smell unforgotten and completely overwhelming as she took deep shaky breaths, inhaling what she could, believing he'd disappear as soon as she looked away.  
  
He absorbed her sobs, stroking her hair with one hand and her back with the other, he dared to reach out his lips and tentatively touch her forehead with a gentle kiss. They stayed like that swaying slowly to the music neither could hear until finally she managed to free herself from his grip and stepped back. Rubbing her face with her fingers she tried in vein to get rid of her tears only to have more fall in their place.  
  
"What are you going to do?" he asked softly.  
  
"Do? What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean are you going to tell them who I am?"  
  
For a moment she just looked at him blankly not understanding what he was saying, but slowly her bewilderment was replaced by anger.  
  
"Is that why you came here? Is that what you wanted to talk about?"  
  
"No Scully that's not why I came here."  
  
"Well if it's your secret you want kept safe don't worry about it, Det Williams. I won't tell a soul." She yelled at him stepping back even further and resting her hands on her hips.  
  
"Scully...let me explain...it's been a long time-." He stared to talk but she cut him off with a small wave of her hand.  
  
"Yes it has. But you left of your own choice. I looked for you Mulder, you knew I would, but do you know what I found?" She walked past him to the door and held it open. "Nothing Mulder. I found nothing. You know I may have stopped ringing hospitals and getting photos of any John Doe's but I never stopped looking...I. Never. Stopped. Looking."  
  
"I'm here Scully, it's me!" he walked over to her and shut the door, ignoring her silent plea for him to leave.  
  
"Is it Mulder?" Her voice was shaking with her last ounce of strength backing away from him as he stepped closer forcing her against the wall.  
  
"Trust me Scully." His words were spoken softly but shot through her painfully and she suddenly found the power to fight back.  
  
"I did Mulder. I did trust you but you threw my trust away. You don't get to have it back."  
  
"Scully..."  
  
"Leave."  
  
"But Scully let me-."  
  
"Just Leave."  
  
The anger in her voice forced him back a step and he turned to put one hand on the door handle. Twisting the knob he pulled it open a little, his eyes still on her shaking form. With a lingering glance he grabbed his coat from the chair and dropped the blanket in its place. Walking out of the room he closed the door softly in his wake. She stood behind it, reaching out to turn the bolt when there was a loud knock form the other side. Looking through the spy hole she saw Mulder standing there looking at the door expectantly. As she opened it and stepped back he walked in pulling the door from her hand and slamming it shut behind him.  
  
"Mulder..." She stepped back.  
  
"Wait."  
  
He followed her in, grasping her arms a little more forcefully than he had intended and dragged her against him. He held her in place for a moment looking down at her confused face without moving, his hand reaching up to caress her features. Her eyes closed under the gentle stroke and she shivered beneath his fingers. He slowly bent down to her, his breath racing across her skin making her shiver until finally his lips brushed hers. With a stifled moan he kissed her harder, exploring the moistness of her mouth, until he felt her whimpering beneath him unable to stem the tide of passion that welled unbidden between them. Slowly his kiss faded and eventually he pulled away, gazing down at her intently as her breath came in short sharp spurts.  
  
"I always promised that if I ever saw you again I'd finally get up the courage to do that." His voice was raspy and spoken through swollen kissed lips but she didn't mind. It was all too sudden when his fingers released their grip on her arms and he stepped back his own breath heavy and laboured. "Goodnight Scully." His hand reached up and cupped her chin as his thumb brushed her red parted lips before he turned and left the room.  
  
She stood transfixed to the spot, watching the door almost hoping he'd return, but knowing he wouldn't. The phone rang loudly shaking her from her trance.  
  
"Hello?" she said breathlessly her hand clutching the cuff of her blouse.  
  
"Dana, it's David."  
  
"Oh hi...David."  
  
"I just got a call from Det Shane. They found another body."  
  
"Okay. I'll be ready in five minutes."  
  
She put the phone down and hurried into the bathroom to wash some freshness into her face. Changing her blouse quickly she rushed out to the car where David was waiting a grim smile on his face. As they pulled out of the motel car park she spied the black car across the street, the unmistakeable figure within it watching her. She tore her eyes away and focused back on David's words as he told her about the body that had been found.  
  
**Pike Place Market **

**18th December 2004 8.36 PM  
**  
Red blue flashing lights tainted the beautiful park side in a way Scully had witnessed too often. She stepped under the umbrella with David and approached the small crowd gathered by the large ornate fountain. Her head was swimming with all the sensations she'd struggled through in the past hour but with some effort she managed to push them down and pull her usual façade in place.  
  
"Can you believe this sleet?" David said, keeping up the idle chatter he'd started in the car to little or no reaction from Scully. "So much for getting away from the weather in DC."  
  
"Yeah." He glanced down at her but held back his thoughts as Det. Shane turned to them. "Male victim, ID unknown at this point. We're running prints." Shane stepped aside and showed them the body. All the air rushed out of Scully's lungs as her eyes fell upon the headless naked body that lay on the fountains edge. Lying in an open body bag she couldn't help her curiosity that propelled her closer for an examination. From behind her David held out a latex glove with a grim smile.  
  
"I'll leave the honours to you."  
  
"Thanks." She slipped it on before touching the body finding it cold even through the light material of the glove. In the centre of his chest was a small plate nailed vertically along his sternum with a six-inch nail at the top and bottom of the plate. "It's another bible quote."  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"'He that believith and is baptised shall be saved; he that believith not shall be damned'."  
  
"Mark 16:16," Shane said grimly.  
  
"More bible quotes...more religious connotations." David stood away from the body his hands resting on his hips in plain frustration.  
  
"From the look of this neck it seems the head was taken clean off in one go. The wound was cauterised...maybe to stop bleeding."  
  
"I have some guys going over the surrounding area, if there is anything to find they'll find it." As if on a cue an officer suddenly yelled out to them.  
  
"Shane...Shane, we got something over here."  
  
They all turned to the voice and started to rush over to where a young officer was waving at them. He pointed at the small line of trees beside them and at first nothing could be seen until David switched on his flashlight.  
  
"Oh my god!"  
  
Speared on a five-foot high metal pole was the victim's head, the mouth closed but from the corner of the lips a dark brown substance seeped out; the eyes were open and gaping at them.  
  
"The head..."  
  
"I'm going to need that head in the morgue for examination as soon as possible." Scully seemed to have switched something on inside of her that activated the macabre routine she was normally used to. "Nobody touches it. Get it wrapped and ready to go."  
  
"And the body Agent Scully?"  
  
"Yes the body too."  
  
"Who found the body?" David asked reaching for his notebook as Scully took his flashlight to examine the head closer.  
  
"Students from the university were setting up a table for a demonstration that's being held here tomorrow."  
  
"Have they been questioned?"  
  
"I hardly think-"  
  
"Have they been questioned?" David asked again.  
  
"Yes. They are at the precinct right now."  
  
"Where is Det Williams?" he asked glancing at Scully, who turned to Det Shane to hear his answer only to see him watching her with a careful gaze.  
  
"He's on his way."  
  
"I'm going to travel with the corpse." Scully moved away from the head and tore her gloves off as she walked back to the body and helped to pack it for the quick journey to the hospital.  
  
"How is eh, Agent Scully?" Shane asked David as they watched her walk away.  
  
"Agent Scully is fine. Why do you ask?" David said knowing a leading question when he heard one.  
  
"She seems a little on edge...has she said anything to you?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About...anything?" Shane wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, his eye catching the gruesome sight of the head pierced by the metal pole.  
  
"I'm not sure I know what you were talking about. If you are concerned about Agent Scullys ability to work on this case-"  
  
"No it's not that at all. Forget I mentioned it." Before Shane could dig a deeper hole he nodded his head and walked away.  
  
From his parked car, Mulder could see Scully barking orders on how to pack the body and preserve evidence and it brought a lonely smile to his face. Her movements were small and measured, not an ounce of energy wasted as if she had practiced the night before. He hadn't forgotten how small she was, coming up to only his shoulder but he had failed to remember how big her presence was when in full FBI mode. Nothing was stopping her from getting the body packed up as soon as possible and getting it to the morgue. He contemplated pre-empting her journey and going straight to the morgue but his heart lurched at the thought of being face to face with her again. He grabbed his phone from the seat beside him and called Shane's cell number.  
  
"Gary, I'm going to go straight to the precinct."  
  
"Alright, Frank." Mulder could see him searching Scully out of the crowd. "Have you spoken to Agent Scully?"  
  
"Briefly." Shane seemed to whisper into the phone as if Scully could hear him but Mulder could see they were too far apart. He had explained to Det Shane that he had worked with Scully before and it ended badly as a way of explaining the bad reaction he was sure he'd receive from her. "I think it's going to be okay."  
  
"Good. Good. She's taking the body to the morgue and McLane is hanging around here for a while before going to the precinct."  
  
"Okay, I'll go back and talk to those kids. Is the area being canvassed?"  
  
"As we speak."  
  
"Talk to you later then Gary."  
  
**Seattle General Hospital **

**Basement Morgue Laboratory **

**18th December 2004 9.15PM**  
  
Scully reached around to the back of her hair and tied it up before pulling the surgical top over her head. She couldn't believe she was back in the morgue with a different body. It lay before her the head sitting a foot away from the neck in a disturbingly fascinating way. She pulled the small table with her tools closer and hit the record button on the tape player.  
  
"Special Agent Dana Scully performing autopsy on John Doe ID number IQ2 272MH. Black male approximate age...mid thirties. Victim has been decapitated with possibly a sword or long thin blade. No blood at the scene or on the victim although clothes had been removed and the body was found floating in water." She leaned in closer to the chest to examine the plate. Leaning behind her she grabbed a large silver tool that looked like needle nose pliers. "Body looks to be dead for under 24 hours. Submerged in water for at least 10 of those hours. There is a metal plate...looks like plated tin...nailed to the sternum. The top nail is embedded at the broadest part of the sternum, the manubrium, by the clavicular notch. The plate is six and a half inches in length but only four inches wide." She measured it with a tape that she quickly returned to the table behind her. Reaching the point of the pliers under the rim at the top of the plate she held it tightly and pulled it up trying to loosen the nails. After some struggle she managed to pry it free and pulled it until the nail was revealed fully.  
  
"The nail was embedded to its head with a now dried blood flow from the wound suggesting the victim was alive for the nail insertion." Scully suppressed the shiver she could feel building up at the base of her spine and moved to the other nail. Pulling it free she held the plate up to the light and saw that it was the back of a car licence plate.  
  
"The second nail, also embedded to its head, is possibly at the facet for the third costal cartilage. I will expect to find extensive damage to this bone on opening. This plate...appears to be a coated licence plate, possibly coated in silver to make the engraving easier. Partial... SVG...can't read any more. Run the ID through Washington state registered cars."  
Looking down at the body with the two holes in the chest she noticed a lack of other injuries. No abrasions on the wrist or ankles to suggest he was tied, no bruising on the body after a beating and without a tox screen she couldn't be sure if he had been drugged or not. The head had been cut off, probably after the plate had been nailed to his chest and ultimately killed him but she couldn't find any evidence of a struggle. "A willing victim?" she said aloud letting her words help her thoughts form theories. "A willing participant."  
  
Her phone rang loudly in her pocket and she walked over to get it, her eyes still on the severed head.  
  
"Scully."  
  
"Agent Scully, it's Gary Shane here. I think I have something here you might like to see. I can't seem to get hold of Agent McLane."  
  
"What have you got?"  
  
"The bodies ID. It's Reverend Thomas Jefferson. He runs a small Baptist church on Mercer Island, holding weekly baptisms in Lake Washington. The Church of The Holy Gospel."  
  
"The other victims, were they religious men?"  
  
"Jared Wilks was a Pro-Life Activist, arrested on more than one occasion for disturbing the peace." Scully could hear him shuffling papers as he searched for the information she asked for. "The victim from this morning is still unidentified. His prints have been run but no results. Rev. Jefferson was on our books after rioting breaking out in ninety-four beside his church. He was arrested for his involvement in instigating it."  
  
"But we have no record of the victim that was crucified?" She glanced over at the body her frown deepening.  
  
"No ma'am."  
  
"Did you say you couldn't get hold of Agent McLane?" she asked his words finally sinking in.  
  
"Yes ma'am. I thought he might be there with you."  
  
"No, I presumed he was at the precinct." "No ma'am. He might be gone out with Frank. He's gone to the church of the Holy Gospel to speak with the congregants."  
  
Scully rolled her head around her neck to release the tension she could feel building but her only release was a small sigh.  
  
"Okay. I'll see if I can find anything here. Thank you for the information Det Shane."  
  
Scully slowly made her way back to the body, her feet tired and heavy and her head swan diving into oblivion. She put on fresh gloves and returned to the body. Carefully picking up the head she placed it into the scales and recorded it's weight.  
  
"The head weighs six...six point three pounds. The wound has been cauterised possibly with a hot blade. The epiglottis has been blocked off with wet leaves." She turned the head up to look up the open neck. "And the mouth filled with a red viscous substance... unknown...it smells sweet...it smells like..." She leaned in closer to smell the dark brown sticky liquid. "It smells like vanilla."

_A/N Didnt I promise you another chapter today? After this chapter there are another 4..._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N This is a big Mulder/Scully chapter and Just to let you know there is a mild sex scene...dont want to ruin the suprise but...ya know! fair warning!_

**Outside the Church Of The Holy Gospel  
  
18th December 2004 9.35PM**  
  
Mulder tuned off the engine and looked out the window to the dimly lit church across the road. Singers could be heard from where he was sitting and he imagined a large colourfully dressed choir swaying at the alter creating the beautiful music from nothing but their voices, holding an elegant rhythm with a raucous clap of their hands. It had been a long time since he had walked into a church on anything but Police business and tonight wasn't going to be any different.  
  
He was grateful that the sleet had held off for a while as he climbed out and locked his car behind him. Fixing his jacket he scratched the beard on his chin and ran a lazy hand through his hair. The weather had convinced most people to stay at home so he crossed the road with ease only stopping at the sound of someone calling his name.  
  
"Det Williams...Frank Williams."  
From across the road he saw McLane glancing for any traffic before walking across calmly to meet him. Mulder rested his hands on his hips and shifted his weight onto his other foot.  
  
"Agent McLane, are you following me?" there was no trace of joking in his voice as he glared openly at the other man.  
  
"Yes. Actually I was." Mulder frowned unable to hide the surprise he felt from his honest answer. "I was pulling into the precinct when you went storming out. I tried to get hold of your number from the desk sergeant but to no avail so I followed you."  
  
"Is there any reason you are following me?" Mulder turned to go into the church leaving McLane to stand on the path or follow him some more.  
  
"I was hoping we could talk."  
  
"I'm about to go in here and announce that we found the Reverend Jefferson decapitated in Pike Place Market. Can it wait?"  
  
"The body has been identified?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The large wooden door opened silently without the ominous creek Mulder expected. They walked though the plainly decorated lobby to a larger room where a small elderly lady sat knitting at a desk. In front of the desk was a large sheet of cardboard announcing tonight's mass in honour of Reverend Jefferson.  
  
"Excuse me," Mulder said pulling his badge from his back pocket.  
  
"Hello young man," she answered smiling openly at them in their out of place suits and stern expressions. "Are you here for the mass? You're a little late but it's okay to go on in if you like."  
  
"No ma'am. I am Detective Frank Williams, we're here about Reverend Jefferson." Her face stilled before them, her smile frozen awkwardly over her lips.  
  
"Dear lord he's been found..." she exclaimed with a sigh. "How is he?"  
  
"Is there an orator of the church we can speak to?" Mulder asked softly. "Ms Elizabeth Jackson...I'll go fetch her right away."  
  
With surprising agility the elderly woman left her knitting on the table and rushed through the large oak wooden door behind her. Mulder put his badge away and subconsciously fixed his tie. He glanced over his shoulder at McLane who was standing still, his hands clasped before him.  
  
"Never gets easy does it?" McLane said looking up to see Mulder looking at him covertly.  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"This part of the job. Telling family, friends, congregation..." he swept his hand around the room. "This part never gets easy."  
  
"How long have you been in DC?"  
  
"Six years. I was working SWAT for a while but the old ticker was acting up so I went to ATF four years ago."  
  
Mulder looked him up and down guessing he was about the same age as himself.  
  
"How long have you been working with Agent...Scully, is it?"  
  
"We had our first case in November 2001. And now run a team in the ATF department."  
  
"This case isn't exactly ATF material."  
  
"No its not it was a separate assignment."  
  
Mulder reigned in the rest of his questions, about the confident man standing beside him. There was so much he wanted to know, to hear to ask but he was too used to being careful to blurt them all out. It was just then when the doors opened again emitting the same elderly lady with a younger one on her heels.  
  
"Detective Williams? You found him...how is he?"  
  
Before Mulder could stop her she grasped one of his hands in both of hers and gently squeezed. He glanced down at her smooth ebony skin covering his weathered hands and his words stuck in his throat. "I'm afraid to say he's dead. His body was found in Pike Place market about 2 hours ago."  
  
"Oh dear lord!" As she released him her hands flew up to her mouth to catch the cries that threatened to overwhelm her. "What happened? Who did this?"  
  
"We're looking into it ma'am. When did Rev Jefferson go missing?" Mulder asked turning at the movement that caught his eye and saw McLane pulling a notebook from his pocket.  
  
"It was a little over a week ago. He was last seen here in church after choir practice. He was gone for three days before we called police."  
  
"Why so long?"  
  
"The Reverend likes to go on retreats...without warning he'd be gone over night or even for 2 days...but when we found his car outside his house, and his cat trapped inside, the alarm went up."  
  
"Did the reverend have any enemies? Any disgruntled members?" McLane stepped forward as he asked his question.  
  
"He was so active in the community...I know for sure there were people who weren't happy about his baptisms in Lake Washington."  
  
"He was holding baptisms in the lake?"  
  
"Last Sunday of the month we would hold mass by the lake and baptise children or new members. We have a license from the city but there were always protesters there trying to disrupt the ceremony."  
  
"Would you be able to name anyone in particular?"  
  
"Bishop Michael Reilly. He was generally at the head of the protest. Something about the sanctification of Christ not manifested in the lake. He wasn't too fond of us using the lake. I think he was afraid of us stealing his St Oliver Church parishioners."  
  
"Anyone else?"  
  
"No. Bishop Reilly was generally the only one who openly spoke out against us." "Thank you Ms Jackson. You've been a great help."  
  
"Will the body be released soon for a service?"  
  
"It will take a couple of days but we'll let you know as soon as we can."  
  
Mulder pulled his card from his shirt pocket and handed it to her.  
  
"If you think of anything else, please call me."  
  
"Thank you detective Williams I will. God Bless."  
  
Both of them offered her rueful smiles as they turned to leave. The rain had started again but the snow held off. Mulder bee lined for his car and tried to ignore McLane hot on his heels.  
  
"Is there anything I can help you with Agent McLane?"  
  
"You know where this Bishops church is?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then there is something you can help me with."  
  
Mulder watched incredulously as McLane circled the car and stood by the passenger door.  
  
"Don't you have your own car?"  
  
"Wouldn't this be more economical?"  
  
"Listen McLane I don't know where you get the idea we're working this case together. I work alone."  
  
"You guys called us."  
  
"I didn't call you."  
  
"Yeah I get that impression Frank. Is it all authority you have a problem with or just the FBI?"  
  
"Authority?" Mulder laughed harshly, no mirth in the brutal sound. "What makes you the authority on this case? So far I have yet to see any illegal consignments of Alcohol, Tobacco or Firearms...but if I do, you'll be the first to know," he sneered.  
  
"So you are obviously the expert in the religious fanatical serial killer department then Frank?"  
  
Mulder winced inside at the description but showed no reaction to McLane.  
  
"I think you are in over your head McLane. You and that pretty little partner of yours should go home before one of you gets hurt."  
  
"Your some piece of work Frank. This whole attitude you got going on, is it working for you? Is it helping you get over whatever the hell it is that messed you up?"  
  
Steely grey eyes darkened in the light rain. David watched him unflinchingly as his brow furled and his lips tightened. He could almost see the tension building in Franks throat as his pulse beat faster against his jaw.  
  
"Hit a nerve did I Frank?" McLane circled the car again to stand next to him. "Look I don't care if you like me, I really don't. But I do care about getting the job done, about catching this guy. So lets put our differences aside and get this done."  
  
"You forgot the bit about wanting the good people of America to be safe once again." Mulder opened the car door and climbed in. "Leave the sanctimonious crap at home McLane its not going help you here in the real world."  
  
He slammed the door and drove off leaving David standing in the drizzling rain with his hair stuck to his head and rivulets of rain running down his neck, under his shirt collar.  
  
He reached into his pocket for his cell phone and dialled Scullys number as he walked to his own car. She answered almost immediately her voice low and rushed.  
  
"Dana, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes I was just finishing up with the body."  
  
"Reverend Jefferson?"  
  
"Yeah. Were you talking to Det Shane?"  
  
"No. Williams."  
  
"Oh?" He wasn't sure but he thought he heard her breathing stop.  
  
"He's got some chip on his shoulder. Asshole."  
  
"What happened David?" Her concern was obvious but the reason not so.  
  
"I was pulling into the precinct car park as he was storming out. I tried calling him but I couldn't get him so I followed him. It turns out he was going to the Church of the Holy gospel."  
  
"Reverend Jefferson's Church."  
  
"Yeah. We went in asked some questions afterwards out on the street..."  
  
"What David? What happened?" He pictured her in green scrubs leaning against a tall silver counter. These morgues always had tall silver counters he mused and it helped him to see the details.  
  
"We had a few words. He's not to fond of me...of the FBI, or of you for that matter?"  
  
"Me?" she exclaimed suddenly.  
  
"He's got a problem with authority."  
  
"Look David we need to find a connection between these victims." She tried to push away her questions and focus on the case. "We have three bodies, one unidentified and still no leads."  
  
"Speaking to the secretary of the Holy Gospel Church she gave a name of a Bishop who openly spoke out against Rev. Jefferson."  
  
"Is Detective Williams gone to speak to him?"  
  
"Yes." "I'm almost finished here then I have to go back to the precinct to finish off my report."  
  
"Okay Dana, I'll pick you up at the hospital in about twenty minutes."  
  
Scully switched the phone off and returned it to her coat pocket. Sighing she walked back to the body and donned a fresh pair of gloves before beginning the Y-Incision close up. She muttered under her breath stray thoughts forming odd words that somehow found their way to her lips. Her mind reeled piecing the puzzle as best she could without seeing the whole picture. The blue twine in her fingers curled as she pulled the needle through the skin on the victim's chest. Now that the body had a name she couldn't help but imagine the life it had led before it ended up decapitated on her autopsy table. She closed the body and rushed through her shower, walking out to the reception in time to see the car pull up out side.  
Scully waved at the night nurse who was still sitting at the desk studying the medical journal in front of him with something less than enthusiasm. She pulled her coat up by the collar, covering her neck and rushed down the path to the waiting black Lincoln. As she approached the door she realised it wasn't David's rental car or him sitting inside. She stopped racing and bent lower to see if she could recognise the driver. Mulder leaned over and opened the passenger door, beckoning for her to follow.  
  
"Are you going to stand in the rain all night or do you want a lift?"  
  
"Mulder? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to collect you. Gary said you were still here."  
  
"David is on his way to collect me."  
  
"I told him I would do it...C'mon Scully, it's cold and wet...get in!" he urged, waving his hand at her again.  
  
Hesitantly she walked over and sat into the wide car. The leather seats were plush and the air was warm. It was dark in the car and the small overhead light went off as she closed the door.  
  
"Is this what they give you to drive?" she said pulling the smooth belt around to buckle up.  
  
"I am the best detective in the force. The want to keep me happy."  
  
"I'm not surprised, with the training you got." It sounded like a shot. It sounded like a dig, but her tone was light, her lips hadn't vanished so he let it go.  
  
"Dana..." he began pulling away from the curb.  
  
"Dana?" she barked out a small laugh as she shook the rain from her coat and pulled it off from under the seatbelt. He couldn't help but notice how her blouse stretched across her abdomen and breasts, but he managed to tear his eyes away as she tossed it on the back seat without ceremony.  
  
"Sorry I thought...David calls you..." his voice faded away. "Sorry."  
  
"It's okay. What were you going to say?" she ran her fingers through her hair to dry the damp tendrils but all she managed to do was fluff up the curls that were bursting to be set free.  
  
"I wanted to apologise." The car rolled to a stop for the red light. "For earlier."  
  
"For the kiss?"  
  
"The kiss? Kissing you? No I'm not sorry for that." He chuckled and turned to her while the car while still motionless. "Are you?"  
  
"What are you sorry for Mulder?" She ignored his question. Her tone found a new level, a level he recognised even after all these years. Welcome Angry Scully.  
  
"For-," he began but she cut him off.  
  
"For leaving? For not calling me? For lying to me? For not caring?" Her eyes found a dark blue hue that shone through him with a glare. "Pick one Mulder because maybe you should apologise for all of them."  
  
The traffic light turned green forcing Mulder to take his eyes off her and drive on. They travelled in silence for a few blocks and he stole what glances he could but finally it became too much for him. He pulled the wheel sharply turning into the car park of a bar on the corner. Switching off the engine he undid his belt buckle and turned to her. She was looking at him with a strange angry curiosity that he realised he missed.  
  
"Dana...Scully...I'm sorry. I can't apologise enough for leaving the way I did. I can't take it back, I can't change it and to be honest...I'm not sure if I would." His hands waved in front of her emphasising his need for her to understand, but she watched him placidly pushing all her emotions to the background to be dealt with at a later date. "But you'll never understand how difficult it was for me."  
  
"No Mulder I won't. But you didn't give me the chance to."  
  
"Give you a chance? All I was doing was surviving Scully."  
  
"I spent that weekend with you Mulder because I cared about you, because I wanted to help you...be there for you. But you didn't want my help."  
  
"No Scully I didn't. Is that so hard for you to believe? You can't fix everything, you couldn't fix me."  
  
"You didn't let me try," she argued.  
  
"I didn't want to. You don't have the solution to all my problems." Their voices were rising past control as Scully undid her own belt and turned towards him.  
  
"What do you want from me Mulder? My forgiveness?"  
  
"No...I'd never expect that...I'd never expect you to give me something I couldn't give myself." His hands fell to his lap and he looked out the window at the falling rain as it bounced in the car park puddles  
  
"Then what?" she barked back almost sorry for her harsh tone...almost.  
  
"A day hasn't gone by...an hour, a minute...that I didn't think about you, didn't miss you. You'll never know-."  
  
"I'll never know? Jesus Christ Mulder...look around you. The world kept turning."  
  
She opened the door and walked out into the light rain ignoring the cold and walking away. He followed her like a flash and pulled her elbow to make her face him.  
  
"Scully...don't do this. Don't push me away."  
  
"You. Left. Me."  
  
The rain hit her face in small drops making her blink quicker to get the water out of her eyes but it didn't seem to make a difference as she was hit with a barrage of tears. His hands reached up to her face, cupping her cheeks, his thumbs brushing her tears away.  
  
"I couldn't do it Scully. I couldn't see you hurting for me. Listen to you crying for me. I thought it would be easier for both of us this way."  
  
"Was it Mulder? Was it easy for you?" she whispered shakily.  
  
"It was the hardest thing I ever had to do."  
  
He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead as he bundled her into his arms and held her close. She took comfort in his warmth and clung to him tightly, but all too soon she felt the tension in his grip releasing as he pulled away.  
  
"It's raining," he said, still holding her face in his hands and gazing into her eyes.  
  
"I know."  
  
"You're wet."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Lets get out of here."  
  
He took her hand and bundled her into the car. Sitting in the passenger seat as he rushed around to the drivers, she felt her heart quicken and a dizzy wave wash over her. He started the engine with a nervous smile in her direction.  
  
"Hungry?"  
  
"Starving."  
  
"Good."  
The tyres screeched with his eagerness to get the journey over with, and she didn't ask where he was taking her, just sat back and relaxed in the overwhelming familiarity of it all. His smell filled the car and she basked in it. Glancing at the cubbyhole beneath the radio she spotted a familiar wrapper. When she pulled it out she smiled at the half full packet of Lay's Sunflower Seeds.  
  
"It really is you Mulder!" she joked shaking the packet beside him.  
  
"Was there really any doubt?"  
  
She let his question hang, preferring to keep it light and let her heart relax before racing in with another barrage of emotional questions and theories.  
  
"So what's with the facial hair?"  
  
"I thought it looked quite dashing...don't you?" He reached up and gently stroked it.  
  
"Maybe a bit porn star–ish Mulder...dashing though isn't word I would use."  
  
"Porn star? Well I tried that job when I first came out here but no dice."  
  
She laughed aloud and he smiled at the delicious sound he had longed to hear, letting it whip around him caressing him gently. Soon he parked the car and jumped out and Scully looked out to see a residential apartment building.  
  
"Where are we Mulder?" she asked as she met him by the bonnet of the car.  
  
"My place."  
  
He took her hand and led her to the door. After punching in a few numbers into the electronic lock he opened the door and walked in. Still holding her hand he walked to the elevator and pressed the call button. It arrived almost immediately and they entered. She watched in mild fascination as he hit the button for the fifth floor and led her out to apartment number 57. "Nice building. You detectives must be holding down good pay."  
  
"Not to mention benefits from the city."  
  
His apartment was dark with half drawn shades and little or no lights switched on, but as he led her past the hallway and into the open plan living room she smiled at the sight of the fish tank, identical to the one she had at her place even down to the small spaceship shaped filter bobbing up and down in the clear water. His furniture was minimal but cosy giving the impression that he spent a lot of time here. The mess suggested he spent that time alone. Over the fireplace was a familiar picture of Mulder and his sister that she couldn't take her eyes off, so as he went to the kitchen to get her a drink she walked over and picked it up. Her small delicate fingers were cold against the glass of the frame. She pushed away the impending tears deciding she had cried enough for the day but they persisted.  
  
"Scully..." Startled by his voice she dropped the picture letting it fall on the corner of the marble fireplace below.  
  
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.  
  
The glass shattered on the cold hard surface breaking the frame joints apart, but as she bent down to gather it up she noticed another picture had been behind the display photo. Shaking she reached out for the small picture and turned it over to see her own smiling face looking back at her. It was a photo that had been taken at a Yankees Game that Mulder had surprised her with one weekend. She was wearing his Knicks sweater that was too big for her and her hair had been whipped into her face covering one of her cheeks. But her smile and bright shining eyes were wide, giving a picture of happiness she rarely displayed.  
  
"Mulder?" She glanced up at him her confusion clear.  
  
"Every day...every hour...every minute...I never stopped thinking about you Scully."  
  
Slowly she stood up and he put the two wine glasses down on the table beside them. His hands met with hers and slowly with close examination he intertwined their fingers. His thumbs stroked the inside palms of her hands sending soft warm sensations up her arms. Carefully he brought her hands up to his neck, joining them at the back of his head and letting his fingers trail lightly to her shoulders. He stepped closer so their bodies were touching, their thighs, torsos, and her breasts against his wide chest.  
  
"I can't believe you are here Scully. I keep waiting to wake up."  
  
"So do I."  
  
His hips swayed back and forth taking her with his motion and he snuggled his head into the crook between her neck and shoulder, keeping the gentle movement constant as he breathed her in. Tentatively his lips reached out to touch her warm skin and she shivered beneath him. So much conflicting emotions battling for supremacy washed around the surface of her body but she was powerless against him. When she felt his tongue lick her where his lips had just been, her grip around his neck tightened. He ran his hands down her back, pressing her against him and tracing her spine to the curve of her bottom then coming round to grip her waist. His head lifted off her shoulder to hover mere inches way from her face.  
  
"This is it Scully. This is everything I ever dreamed of. Holding you, touching you, smelling you, tasting you...I never thought I'd see you again...I never hoped...it was breaking my heart."  
  
His voice racked by emotion was low and scared, afraid he might wake up if he spoke too loudly and have the dream dispel around him in the harsh cold light of day, finding himself alone in his bedroom as usual.  
  
His hand reached up to touch her hair and he twirled a small lock of it between his fingers. She noticed his eyes were distant as if he were thinking of days missed and friendships ruined.  
  
"Mulder."  
  
"Scully." He slowly leaned down towards her lips but her hand moved up and stopped him, touching his shoulder to push him away.  
  
"No Mulder...don't."  
  
"Sorry, I thought...sorry." He moved away from her dropping his hands to his sides, then lifting them to his hips and dropping them again.  
  
"Mulder it can't happen like this. I don't want to sleep with you in a one night frenzy." "One night frenzy?" His smile was slight but teasing and she blushed under his cool gaze.  
  
"It was tough enough to move on when you left the first time. When this case is over I'll go back to DC." Her eyes darted over to the broken picture frame. "Lets not make it any harder than it already is."  
  
"Okay Scully...okay. I'm sorry." He leaned over and squeezed her shoulder with a sad smile. "Sit down and have a drink, I'll get some dinner ready."  
  
After he handed her the glass of white wine he went back into the kitchen. She sat down onto the plush white couch and sipped the cool drink. Her eyes examining the room, memorising the niches, the art, the smell. He returned to the living room, having shed his jacket and tie and cleaned up the broken glass. Taking his own glass of wine from the coffee table he sat on the opposite end of the couch, one of his legs bent under him, the other dangling over the edge.  
  
"So you got a new partner?"  
  
"It's been four years Mulder. I've been working with David for a little over three of those years."  
  
"What happened the X files?"  
  
"They remained open and active for six months. But I was working on my own and seeing as the reason for my initial assignment was redundant, it just didn't seem viable to keep them open. I was transferred to ATF in June of 2001 and started working with David in November."  
  
"What's he like?" he asked sipping his wine.  
  
"You met him Mulder."  
  
"But I want to know what you think." He glanced at her from over the rim of his glass before taking another sip.  
  
"He's great. We work well together."  
  
"As well as we did?"  
  
"It's a different relationship."  
He put his glass down and sat back into the couch. She blushed again unused to the lavish attention he was offering her. But as suddenly as his attention was offered he receded it, jumping off the couch he went back into the kitchen where she could hear plates and pans banging together.  
  
"What are you making Mulder?"  
  
"Pasta with chicken."  
  
"Want a hand?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
She left her glass next to his and went in to the well-lit kitchen. Pulling her jacket off she draped it over a chair and it was only then she noticed her white blouse, wet from the rain and clinging to her body.  
  
"Looks like you could do with a change of clothes."  
  
"I guess I got wetter than I realised."  
  
"Keep stirring this and I'll grab something for you."  
  
She took the fork from him and stirred the sauce as he walked past her and disappeared into a door behind the couch. He was gone for only a moment and returned empty handed taking the fork back off her.  
  
"I left some stuff out on the bed. You can change in there."  
  
Silently she walked out to the door he'd left ajar and peered inside. As she pushed it open and stepped in she was met by a dark blue room with floor to ceiling windows coving one wall and a large low bed against the opposite wall. A stack of bookshelves by the bed was full holding a table lamp and a small alarm clock as well as books and journals. Resisting the urge to read the titles she crossed the room to the bed and lifted the t- shirt and shorts he'd left out for her. Peeling her top off she draped it over the radiator and reached around to the back of her skirt to pull the zip down.  
  
Mulder idly stirred the sauce listening to her soft footfall move around his bedroom. He thought of walking into her and grabbing her and kissing her and throwing her onto the bed so he could...but she didn't want that. So he continued to stir the sauce, move the pasta and check on the chicken, all the while keeping one eye on the bedroom door.  
  
She undid her bra and tucked it onto the radiator beside her blouse; a stray thought asking if it was the first bra to be drying there. She pushed the question aside with a smile and pulled the t-shirt on. The shorts were long enough to reach her mid thigh, but she couldn't help but wonder if they were the only things he could find for her to wear or the only thing he wanted to see her in. Regardless they were dry so she fixed them against her legs and hung her skirt on what room was left on the radiator. She left her shoes by the bed and padded out barefoot where she found Mulder bending over the fireplace striking a match. He didn't hear her silent approach and jumped when she touched his back. Her smile was shy, but more alluring than she was aware and words stuck to his throat at the sight of her in his Seattle Sonics t-shirt.  
  
"Sonics fan Mulder?"  
  
"Yeah go Sonics! Are you cold?"  
  
"No I'm okay. I left my stuff on the radiator to dry if that's okay."  
  
"Yeah it's fine. Sit here, the fire should be going in a minute." He patted the corner of the fireplace for her to take a seat. She sat next to him and smiled again. He stood up and went into the kitchen and returned with two plates. "Here ya go."  
  
She took the plate and inhaled the aroma of the cooked chicken in the mushroom sauce on a bed of angel pasta. It was one of her favourite meals and she was sure he knew it but she didn't say anything. He went back to the kitchen to retrieve the cutlery and the rest of the wine.  
  
"This smells delicious Mulder."  
  
"Well your stomach wont fills on smells. Tuck in Scully."  
  
They ate in practical silence, sharing glances and smiles enjoying the heat from the fire on their backs. When their plates were cleared he took them and put them into the sink, then came back to sit next to her again.  
  
"You seem...settled here Mulder," she mused as he filled her wine glass again.  
  
"I do?"  
  
"I don't know what it is. You seem content."  
  
"Content is not a word I'd use. Restless, tired of running, scared...that's just a few."  
  
"What are you running from?" He looked at her with arched eyebrows, his face turning into a sneer.  
  
"You read the medical reports Scully. You know what happened to me. Don't pretend you don't." His eyes darted away from her and focused on the wine in his glass.  
  
"Maybe if you faced your troubles you wouldn't have to run so far...so hard. Maybe if you accepted help from those who cared about you, you wouldn't be so scared."  
  
"I've got a routine here Scully. A nice, safe routine."  
  
"A hiding place." She finished off her wine and put the glass down. The picture of Samantha resting on the table caught her eye and she reached down to pick it up. "What about Samantha?"  
  
"I can't help her now." His voice was so defeated, so low.  
  
"What about Fox Mulder?"  
  
"Mulder...Mulder is gone."  
  
"Detective Frank Williams." She fingered the photo gently, touching the smiling faces on it and passing it to him. "Pity. I'm not sure if I like you Frank."  
  
"Scully what do you want from me?" Despair tainted his voice as he looked at the picture in his hands, tears welling up behind his eyes.  
  
"I don't want anything from you Frank. I want Mulder. I want my Fox Mulder back."  
  
Without another word Mulder stood up and went into the bedroom. She gaped after him wondering if she had pushed him too far. But as she heard the shower running she was confused. Thinking he needed a moment alone, she wandered into the kitchen to clean up the remainder of the mess. By the time she had it all cleaned up the shower was no longer running but no noise could be heard. She wondered briefly about knocking on the door asking if he was okay, but as she took a step towards the door it swung open.  
  
Her eyes widened at the sight of him standing before her. Wearing a faded pair of Levi's and a navy blue t-shirt. Her eyes roamed up his body over his cleanly shaven face and landing on his sparkling dark green eyes.  
  
"Green eyes, no facial hair...huge chip on my shoulder...is this what you want Scully?"  
  
"Oh...Mulder!"  
  
She rushed over and grabbed him into a tight hug. Standing on her tiptoes she could reach her arms around his neck so she squeezed him against her. His hands met at the small of her back enjoying her exuberant embrace in case it didn't last long.  
  
"Scully..." he whispered into her hair before leaning back and looking into her eyes. He saw the conflicting emotions battling to rule before he settled his lips against her. She shivered at the contact then snuggled against his body, as though needing his warmth. His mouth played with hers, teasing it open, wetting it with his tongue.  
  
No Mulder, stop flashed through her mind, but she didn't have the willpower to push him away, not this time. Instead she took his kiss and gave her own at the same time dragging her arms down his back and holding his waist.  
  
Mulder hadn't truly expected her to respond with anything but refusal certainly he didn't understand it. Dazed and dizzy he buried the questions and concentrated on the pleasure of holding her. Of kissing her. Of touching her.  
  
His hands began to wandering, caressing her from shoulder to hips. Her contribution was earth shattering and coming close to distracting him completely. He lifted her t-shirt enough to snake his hand beneath it against her warm skin and sighed into her mouth when she did the same. She wasn't going to stop him he realised while trying to catch his breath between kisses. Incredible. More confident he lifted the t-shirt higher and pulled it off over her head. Loathing breaking contact with her lips he snatched them straight back again pressing her body against him. Then it seemed neither of them could get undressed fast enough. He walked her backwards into his bedroom as they deposited a trail of clothes behind them, and fell onto his bed, with her on her back and Mulder on top of her. Kisses were exchanged hungrily, greedily.  
  
"I want you so much," he whispered raggedly.  
  
He hadn't had to say it, not when she was already lying beneath him. But the words lifted her to a higher plane of desire and she opened her legs for him. He put the two of them together like the pieces of a puzzle, curves and angles fitting perfectly.  
  
He wanted to say it. I love you Scully. But she wasn't ready yet to hear it. She would make love with him but she wouldn't talk about love. She would he decided grimly. Before she left tonight, and he was sure she would leave.  
  
Of course tonight was only a few hours away, and how could a man be discontented when he was deep in the throes of a blinding passion with the woman he loved? He brushed her throat with his lips licking the soft warm skin, and inhaling deeply.  
  
"Oh Mulder," she whispered, aching for him. He bent to touch the satin of her nipples with his lips. She whispered his name again as the skin tautened in pleasure. No he wasn't discontented. The way the blood was rushing around his head it was a wonder he could think at all. He quit trying and put every ounce of energy into giving both Scully and himself pleasure.  
  
His mouth moved again a sweet torment that found her breasts, their aching tips, the smoothness of her belly, and the mystery of her shivering thighs. And when she thought that there was no more that she had reached the limit of her endurance he came back to her, murmuring her name. Now there was no holding back. None of the self-control that allowed her to function so well, now his need matched hers, and his body was fierce, demanding a response from every sinew.  
  
Then he began moving, raising his head to watch her face while he loved her and at last the agony of desire was quenched in trembling ecstasy. They clung together as they tumbled down the fiery waterfall of their passion, plunging deep into the depths, sinking, drowning, and drifting into a peace more utterly complete than anything she had ever known.

_A/N : den den deehhhhhh!!!!! Ahh you know me! It'll always get worse before it gets better!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Seattle Police Precinct 6th Avenue **

**18th December 2004 10.40 PM**  
  
Detective Gary Shane finished his coffee and slapped the cup onto the file covered table. He sighed loud enough for David to look up as she stood up and walked over to the window.  
  
"This is one of the worst cases I've ever worked on."  
  
"It is somewhat gruesome." David sat back tossing the pencil onto the table. Needing the break just as bad he stretched his back and listened.  
  
"Sixteen years on the force, I thought I seen it all."  
  
"Did Williams get over to St Oliver's Church?"  
  
"I haven't heard."  
  
"He called me and said he was meeting Agent Scully to ask about autopsy results."  
  
"Well you know more than me then."  
  
"How long have you been working with Detective Williams?" David asked turning his chair to face where Shane leaned against the cold glass.  
  
"A little over three years. He's an amazing detective. Worked the private sector for years in California before he came up to Seattle."  
  
"He seems a little on edge."  
  
"That's the way he's always been." Shane touched the leg of the table with his foot. "He works better alone. You didn't work with him before?"  
  
"No." "It must have before you were with Agent Scully. They worked together before."  
  
"Oh?" David sat up, his interest piqued.  
  
"It was a few years back. Didn't end so well, but it they seem to have patched things up."  
  
"Yeah. I think she mentioned something," David lied wondering why she hadn't.  
  
"Right. I'm going to call it a night." Shane gathered up his coat and slipped it on with a grunt. He paused to look at the files spread out on the table and looked up at Agent McLane. "You look like you could do with the rest too."  
  
"Yeah I'm about to head off too."  
  
"Tomorrow is another day."  
  
Shane turned and left the small office closing the door behind him. McLane sat back into his chair, his thoughts disturbed by the rumble in his stomach. It was only then that he realised he hadn't eaten all day. While out on a case he always shared the evening meal with Dana and they used the time to mull over all the information they had gathered. Knowing she was now with Detective Frank Williams annoyed him more than he cared to realise. He took his jacket from the back of the chair and threw it on roughly. Collecting the files form the table he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled her number.  
  
**Waterville Apartments **

**18th December 2004 10.35PM**  
  
The room was dark with little light seeping through the thin blinds.  
Scully was lying on her right side, facing the window, peering at it in the dim light she let her mind wander through the quiet stillness. Mulder, too, was on his right side, with his left arm across Scully's waist and his left leg thrown over hers. Unlike her, his eyes were closed.  
  
Neither had said much after their tumultuous lovemaking. Mulder kept expecting her to make a quick exit but instead she seemed content to lie in his arms. He appeared calm although it was all show. Inside he was a mass of nerves. Was this the right time to talk about how he felt? About what he expected? Would there ever be a right time? How would he know? One thing he did know was that they had to talk. He opened his eyes. "Scully?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"Everything alright?"  
  
It took a moment for her to answer. "Not exactly."  
  
He rose up to his elbow to peer down at her, which told him little as he could only see her profile. "Meaning?"  
  
She took in a deep slow breath. "Don't you feel weird lying here with me?"  
  
Hesitating he finally nodded. "Yes I guess I do Scully." She turned onto her back to see his face. "I don't know. After meeting you again I started thinking weird thoughts. Like..." He hesitated.  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Like after this case was over I could keep you here in Seattle."  
  
"Mulder I-," she began but he stilled her words with two gentle fingers on her lips.  
  
"I know...I know." They fell silent again, but Mulder glanced up and caught her eyes. "Do you consider making love with me a mistake?"  
  
She laughed mirthlessly. Trust Mulder to get straight to the point.  
  
"I don't know what to call it. Obviously you affect me sexually." Her shoulder lifted in a small shrug. "I've got a lot on my mind. A lot to think about," she added after a moment. "I wish the answers would come out of the blue and I would suddenly understand myself...and what I want."  
  
"You're saying you don't know what you want? In connection to your career, or what?"  
  
"With everything, career included."  
  
"I'm in there someplace, aren't I? Mixed in with all your other questions?"  
  
She sighed again, softly this time. "Yes you're a part of my quandary. I never wanted to...well you know."  
  
"Never wanted to?" he said in a husky whisper. "I've upset your equilibrium haven't I?"  
  
"To say the least." Another sigh whispered through her lips. "My confusion is all your fault and...I'm accepting it."  
  
"Not always."  
  
"No. Not always. Sometimes I'm strong enough to say no and then something like this happens and I realise that I'm not always strong. Or sensible."  
  
"But only where I'm concerned. Scully doesn't that tell you anything?"  
  
"It certainly does," she said with a cynical little laugh. "It tells me I should stay the hell away from you."  
  
He took his hand from around her waist and ran it down her side, clear to her knees. "I love touching you."  
  
A shiver of pleasure danced along her skin. She couldn't help responding to his touch, sensible or not. "So," she said a bit breathlessly.  
  
"You started thinking about keeping me in Seattle at our meeting this morning?"  
  
"Since my eyes fell on your beautiful familiar face. I have to admit when I found out you were coming, my first thought was to get the hell outta here." He spoke cautiously, unsure of how long she would remain lying naked next to him, tentatively speaking around painful subjects. "But I couldn't help myself. I knew you'd recognise me. I wanted you to...I missed you so much." His hand came back up to her waist and drew small circles around her hipbone.  
  
"I missed you too Mulder."  
She looked away turning to the window. Mulder watched her profile for any hint of what she was thinking. In truth he had hurt her. He knew he had hurt her very much. Now she was lying here in his arms. In the arms of the man who had stolen her heart and trust so long ago. Mulder heard her rather forlorn sigh.  
  
"What's wrong Scully?"  
  
She gave a brief brittle laugh. "Us...like this." She sat up suddenly letting his hand fall away from her. "Mulder I need to go."  
  
The mood swing he'd been expecting had just happened. Frowning he sat up. "Scully listen to me for a minute okay? We've got something special-."  
  
"No," she said firmly. "We don't."  
  
She was about to continue but the sound of her phone-ringing cut into her sentence. Without thought she jumped from the bed and rushed across the room to get it from her jacket that she'd draped over a chair in the kitchen. Mulder watched open mouthed at her naked form dashing through the door. Her voice was mumbled from the other room and he couldn't hear what was being said. He presumed it was David calling to see where she was. He would have done the same.  
  
Soon she came back into the room and slowly walked back to the bed, oblivious to her state of undress. She seemed hesitant to rejoin him on the bed but soon she ran out of space and sat down next to him.  
  
"Agent McLane?" he said sneering the name around his lips.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Did you tell him you couldn't talk because you were engaging in sexual activity with your long lost FBI partner?" Mulder whispered with a smile kissing her bare shoulder softly, letting his tongue appear to join his wet lips.  
  
"No, I forgot to mention that."  
  
"Don't go Scully," he said suddenly, his voice heavy with need. "Please stay." The tone of his voice raised goose bumps on her skin. He tugged on her shoulder to get her to lie down with him again and she knew his body would be warm and sleek, and that he would offer her every physical comfort he could. He shifted his weight until the duvet could be pulled out beneath him. He smiled but she didn't see it, as she was looking the other way.  
  
"Come on Scully, snuggle with me."  
  
Sighing she glanced around at the scene he presented and crawled in next to him. He pulled the quilt around them both then burrowed his arm beneath her and cradled her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Perfect," he murmured huskily, stroking the silky skin of her abdomen with his free hand.  
  
Her panic died on her tongue with any declaration of leaving. Besides the pleasure was unbelievable. The bed was a double sized soft bed, but Mulder was a big man taking up a lot of space and it was impossible for her to lie next to him and not be aware of every inch of his body that was touching hers.  
  
He was nuzzling her ear. "I could do this every day of my life with you," he whispered.  
  
So could she, she realised, biting her lip and frowning slightly. But then his hand slipped lower on her belly and she stopped frowning. He moved his leg beneath hers to open her for his hand.  
  
"Mulder," she whispered, all set to protest his boldness.  
  
"Yes?" Gently he began exploring her, nipping and licking her neck and shoulder as far as he could reach. Her eyes closed and her words died on her dry lips. He chuckled softly in her ear. "Tell me you like what I'm doing."  
  
"I think you can tell I like it," she said her voice hoarse and thick. She managed a challenging laugh. "Let's see if you like it." Her hand glided downward from his waist to circle him.  
  
"Ohhh," he groaned. "Yeah I like it."  
  
Crooking his elbow under her head he brought her face around for a long drugging kiss. When they both needed air he broke off, feeling her hot breath against his face as she panted beneath him. Her eyes were closed and a soft frown creased her brow.  
  
"Scully?"  
  
"I have to go Mulder." She made to sit up away from his enticing touch but a firm hand on her shoulder pulled her back down to him.  
  
"No Scully, please stay."  
  
Her eyes closed at the sound of his voice and she lay still. When she didn't move Mulder lay back down with her and tentatively put his arm on her waist. His head rested beside her shoulder and his lips brushed it lightly.  
  
"For a while," he heard her murmur before her breathing relaxed and she fell asleep. He wasn't far behind her as he sank into her cool rhythm, her chest rising and falling beneath his hand sending him into a sleep of his own.  
  
Scully woke in the darkness her mind swimming with sensations of a heavy weight on her belly, and hot air brushing against her shoulder. She turned her head and saw him sleeping next to her. A quick glance at the clock let her know it was half past two in the morning. Carefully she slipped out from beneath him, letting his hand rest on the pillow in her stead. Shivering in the cold she pulled on the Sonics t-shirt before going to the radiator to grab her clothes. Stealthily making her way out to the living room she called a cab using a number he'd written on the outside of a phone book that rested on the counter. She gave the address from an envelope and hurriedly put on her clothes.  
  
For a few agonizing moments she waited in the silence willing the cab to hurry and when she could take it no more she went out to the street to meet the car, hoping it wouldn't be long. Luckily it rolled up to the curb as she got to the sidewalk and she climbed in calling out the hotel name. Looking back up to the apartment she thought she saw the blinds moving but expelled her paranoia with a sigh and sat back for the short journey. Fixing her jacket tighter around her she paid the driver and stepped out. Her keys fumbled in her shaking hands and she didn't hear the door to the room opening. "Dana." Jumping she turned to see David looking at her with a worried face. "Everything okay?"  
  
"David...yes it's fine."  
  
"Where have you been?" David hated to ask. He never usually pried into her private life, knowing how much she liked to keep it private but he never usually had a reason to.  
  
"I was working on the case with...Detective Williams."  
  
"All this time?"  
  
"I guess we lost track of time."  
  
He seemed unsure of what she was saying and walked to her door as she opened it and stepped in.  
  
"Detective Shane mentioned that you worked with him before."  
  
"He did?" She paused her jacket hanging in her hands hovering over the bed.  
  
"He said it was a few years ago on a case. Was it when you were on the X files?"  
  
"Eh, yeah. Before I was with the ATF."  
  
"Is there something going on Dana? Something you want to tell me?" She dropped her jacket and he noticed the basketball t-shirt she was wearing beneath her blouse. He was sure she wasn't wearing that before. "Were you involved with him?"  
  
"No...it wasn't like that."  
  
"Look...if this is going to be a problem I'll understand if you want to get off this case...go back to DC. At least one of us can celebrate Christmas at home."  
  
"No David. It's okay. I want to stay and finish this case. I'm hoping both of us can be home for Christmas." She tried to smile but she wasn't sure if it was convincing enough. "Okay, well get some sleep. I'm going over to St Oliver's church in a few hours to see if I can talk with Bishop Michael Reilly."  
  
"I have an appointment in the hospital tomorrow with the toxicologist at 10."  
  
"Okay. Goodnight Dana."  
  
"Goodnight David."  
  
He backed out of the room closing the door behind him but before it shut completely he stuck his head back in.  
  
"Dana, if you want to talk...you know you can talk to me."  
  
"Thanks David. Don't worry about me. I'm fine."  
  
"I know. You're always fine."  
  
He closed the door softly behind him and she tore off her blouse. Climbing into the cool clean sheets of her bed she snuggled the blankets up to her chin already missing the warm touch of his arms around her. David's words spun around her head while the soft cotton of the Sonics t-shirt she wore dispelled her fears with wonderful smells and memories. She couldn't help the smile that curved her lips as she closed her eyes succumbing to the tiredness her whole body felt.  
  
**Seattle Police Precinct **

**19th December 2004 10.50AM**  
  
Shane slammed the files onto the tabletop and ignored them as they floated to the ground, landing in a pile beneath his desk. His face was red with anger and his eyes dark and tired.  
  
"This is ridiculous. Are you sure?"  
  
David showed him the photo of the crucified victim and pulled the photo of Bishop Reilly from the pile of pages on the floor. He slid them across the table side by side and the identity was unmistakable.  
  
"It's him. Father Donald King will make an official identification later today but it's definitely him."  
  
"So what your saying is that our only suspect is the other unidentified victim?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Jesus Christ." Shane slapped the table again ignoring the smack of pain that shot up his arm.  
  
"He was last seen leaving for Tennessee on Friday the 10th of December to visit a sick friend. He never made it. And the licence plate that was used for the inscription was registered to him too."  
  
Just then Scully walked in and with a quick glance around the room she absorbed the tension. The file she held in her hand hovered over the table.  
  
"Toxicology reports no foreign substances in the blood and apart from an over abundance of adrenalin they were clean. No painkillers or anaesthetics. Not even valium...nothing."  
  
"So not only were these men, stoned, crucified and beheaded...you're telling me they were willing victims?"  
  
"No not necessarily." She passed the file to David who leafed through it.  
  
"They could have been victims of hypnosis, powers of suggestion making them agree to something they weren't quite aware of."  
  
"Hold still while I nail you to this cross?" Shane exclaimed unbelievingly, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.  
  
"Suggestion is a powerful thing Detective. The science of hypnosis is centred on it," she replied smiling at the thought of a similar conversation she'd shared with Mulder. Only this time she was doing the convincing rather than being convinced.  
  
"She's right." They all turned to see Frank Williams leaning against the doorframe. Scully blushed and looked away but David saw the colour creeping into her cheeks before she did. "With no evidence of a struggle found on any of the bodies and no sedatives, we can only assume they were willing participants or..."  
  
"Or hypnotised?" Shane finished for him. "I'm not buying Frank. All I know is we're back to square one with our only suspect to date dead in the morgue. We need to get moving on this and we need to move now."  
  
David sat up and gathered the files again. He shuffled them neatly into a pile as the room sank under the heavy weight of the silence.  
  
"I spoke to the parishners at St Oliver's and Holy Gospel. Possibly with background checks on the first victim we can find a connection. Is there somewhere I can get started on that?" he said rising and holding the files under his arm.  
  
"Yes, interview room 4 has been set up with everything you need. Let me show you."  
  
"David, I'm going to take a look at the baptism spot on Mercer Island that Rev. Jefferson used." Scully caught his wandering eyes and noticed something brewing beneath their cool blue surface.  
  
"I'll take you out there." Mulder stepped forward to let Shane get out of the room to lead David to the mock office. David glanced back to see Dana's face at his words but he could read no reaction.  
  
"No that's okay, I can find it."  
  
"Well let me show you anyway." His voice was soft and diluted with forced pleasantness. His eyes told a different story and she presumed he had a few choice words for her, so she succumbed to his suggestion and walked out to the car park with him lagging behind her.  
  
David settled into the office chair before the PC and refused Shane's offer of coffee. His mind circled her face looking for clues but as usual she was unreadable. He had never known her to be so erratic and it was worrying him. Knowing she was close with AD Skinner he picked up the phone and dialled the DC FBI switchboard.  
  
"AD Skinner, please." He leaned back into the creaking chair and listened to the tinny Christmas carols play over the line while he waited for Skinner to answer.  
  
"AD Skinners office."  
  
"Hi it's Agent David McLane, I need to speak with the director."  
  
"I'll put you through."  
  
Another short blast of the seasonal music was cut off by Skinners gruff replay.  
  
"Agent McLane. Is there a problem?"  
  
"I'm not so sure."  
  
"Is it Scully? Has something happened?" The level of concern Skinner was showing surprised David but he continued without saying anything.  
  
"No sir. It's just she is a little distracted by this case. I was wondering if you might shed a little light on it for me."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Detective Frank Williams...does that name ring a bell?"  
  
"Isn't he one of the Detectives working on the case out there in Seattle?"  
  
"Yes sir...but I was hoping you could tell me more. It seems Dana has worked with him before. She is somewhat distracted by him."  
  
"I'm afraid I have no personal information on Agent Scully, nor would I pass it off if I had. I'm surprised at you Agent McLane."  
  
"No sir it's not like that. I'm worried about her. She's not acting like herself."  
  
"I will call her for a progress report but I suggest you concentrate on the case rather than Agent Scully's personal life."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
David hung up the phone and rubbed his face with both hands groaning aloud into them. He took in a deep slow breath and let it out just as slowly before pulling closer to the PC and switching it on. He knew he was in the dark about something and he didn't appreciate all the subterfuge. She would speak to him in her own time he realised, but he wasn't sure if this case could take any more distractions. Pulling up the personnel file on Jared Wilks, David scanned through dates and times of arrest noting any ones that stuck out. He pictured them out by the lake, sifting through blades of grass hoping the answer would appear to them. Just then Shane arrived with coffee and donuts and pulled a seat up next to him.  
  
"Yeah I know you said you didn't want any but I always find it helps for these background searches."  
  
David smiled his thanks and sipped his coffee as he turned his full attention back to the screen.  
  
**Luther Burbank Park Mercer Island **

**19th December 2004 11.50AM**  
  
A small gazebo had been built by the edge of the lake and a banner across the top of it colourfully displayed the name of the holy gospel church. It was painted white and had a small christening stand in the centre. Over by the water a makeshift dock sank into the water. It was also painted in many different colours and bending down to it, Scully brushed her hands along its smooth varnished surface. Mulder walked back to the gazebo and examined the contents on the christening stand but found it clean and empty.  
  
"This place is immaculately clean," he said as she walked over to him. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a light blue top underneath the smooth black jacket that hugged her figure. He couldn't help but picture the colour of her skin beneath his hands but she had barely said two words to him since they left the precinct so he didn't push it.  
  
"Do you think its been cleaned deliberately?"  
  
"Maybe the congregation keep it this clean." She nodded slowly her hand running along the inside surface of the stand.  
  
"Possibly."  
  
"So far with all religious deaths and religious inscriptions we can assume he is well versed in the bible."  
  
"He?" she queried with a small twitch in her eyebrow.  
  
"I'm working under the presumption that the killer is a male, white male, aged between 25 and 40. Common profile for serial killers especially religious fanatics. He's got to be a local man with knowledge of the activities of all men. Although Wilks was reported missing straight away, Bishop Reilly and Rev. Jefferson were missing for some time before the alarm was raised."  
  
"A friend who wouldn't need to tie them up."  
  
"A friend...who knew their movements."  
  
"A common friend for all three men? We have yet to find any connection between these victims Mulder."  
  
"The lack of a struggle, or evidence thereof is puzzling. Willing victims, no matter how willing don't lie there to be crucified." She muttered kicking the wet grass under her shoes as if she might find the missing piece beneath the mud. "Besides, Jared Wilks, who was stoned to death had abrasions on his arms and legs as if he were protecting his face. If he was willing to die he wouldn't have tried to protect himself."  
  
"You think you missed something?"  
  
"I'm afraid that I did. They could have been paralysed. Maybe with an injection on Botulium Toxin that in a high enough dosage can render a person temporarily paralysed"  
  
"But you didn't find any trace evidence of that?"  
  
"No. Nor could I find any injection point." She sighed heavily and crossed her arms against the cold wind. "If only there was a connection between the victims."  
  
"Maybe David will pick something up today."  
  
Scully didn't miss the sneering lilt in Mulders voice. His grey eyes were back in place and he hadn't shaved but what little hair had grown on his chin did little to disguise him. She glanced at him wistfully and he must have sensed her examination because he turned and caught her eyes.  
  
"You don't like him do you?" she blurted out.  
  
"Are you surprised?"  
  
"Well yes. He's an excellent agent, Mulder."  
  
"I'm sure he is...I just don't like him."  
  
"Well as long as it's an informed decision you've made!" she said quietly her voice dripping with an unusual sarcasm.  
  
"Why did you leave?" His question was sudden and loud, thrust out into the expectant air with little thought about consequence.  
  
"I had to get back to the motel."  
  
"You could have woken me."  
  
"Mulder, I-"she began but he cut her off with a sharp wave of her hand.  
  
"Yeah I know. We should just be friends, it's not you it's me, it shouldn't have happened...I slept in, I got a flat tyre, my dog ate my homework."  
  
He walked off the gazebo and over to the shoreline where the dark water lapped the soft ground. The grass beneath her feet disguised her footfall, but he was instantly aware her small body standing so familiarly against his.  
  
"That's not fair Mulder." She looked out to the water with him, neither of them making eye contact, content to watch the small waves. "It's been so hard for so long. I can't switch everything back on all of a sudden because you are here."  
  
"I know." His voice was low and soft barely spoken and almost stolen by the wind.  
  
"I don't think I could go through loosing you again. It all but killed me the first time. Please don't ask me to do it again."  
  
"Scully..." He turned to face her, slipping her small hand into his.  
  
"Scully I knew what was going to happen when you got here and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I could have left, but I didn't, I could have run again but I didn't."  
  
"You had time to prepare Mulder." She kept her eyes steady on the lake.  
  
"What can I do Scully? Go back to DC? Rejoin the FBI?" A small harsh laugh escaped passed his lips. "Reopen the Xfiles?"  
  
"Its too much to take in Mulder. Give me a chance to process everything."  
  
"I'm not sure if we have too much time."  
  
"What do you mean?" she looked up to his half closed eyes.  
  
"I can't stay here now. If you go back to DC...without me...then I'll move on."  
  
"Mulder-."  
  
"Williams. My name is Frank Williams." He said his name loudly, dropping her hand and walking away. She stared after him for a while about to chase him when her phone rang in her pocket.  
  
"Scully."  
  
"Agent Scully, I'm calling to see how the case is going."  
  
"AD Skinner. The case? It's a different case. A tough one to crack." She watched Mulder climb into the car and slowly made her way towards it, the phone against her ear.  
  
"No leads?"  
  
"What little progress we make seems to only circle us back to square one."  
  
"I see. And how about you, how are you doing?"  
Scully sensed an ulterior motive behind his words and wondered briefly if he knew what she was really facing out here in the cold reaches of Seattle.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"How are you holding up?"  
  
"Fine sir. Somewhat frustrated but we'll get there. Hopefully before another victim is found."  
  
"Good. Well keep me informed."  
  
"I will sir."  
  
She reached the car and climbed into the passenger seat as she slid her phone into her pocket. Mulder started the car and put his belt on. He could feel her eyes on him but he ignored them, keeping his eyes on the road. The traffic was heavy and they progressed slowly and silently towards the precinct. But before they could get off the island Mulder's phone rang insistently.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Frank, you still out on Mercer Island?" Shane's voice boomed across the line loud enough for Scully to hear.  
  
"Yeah we're just coming up to the I-90 slip road."  
  
"Well wait a sec," Shane said.  
  
Mulder indicated and turned off the road parking against a curb on North Mercer way. Scully was giving him a curious look but all he could do was shrug his shoulders.  
  
"Do you know the Church of the Latter Day Saints on 40th Street?"  
  
"Yeah I know it."  
  
"Reverend Hank Pearson."  
  
"Ok."

"As far as we can tell...it seems that the victims were all acquaintances of his, from various city meetings, protests and clashed throughout the year. He is the only connection we can find between all these men."  
  
"I'll check it out."  
  
"Is Agent Scully with you Frank?"  
  
"Yeah she is." Mulder risked a quick glance at her but just as quickly looked away.  
  
"Okay. And Frank, be careful. We're not sure if this guy is the next victim or the perp."  
  
"Alright Gary." Mulder tossed the phone onto the dashboard and started the car again.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked as he did a U-turn and waved at a passing driver who let him out.  
  
"It seems that the men were all connected. With one other name for the pot. Reverend Hank Pearson from the Church of the Latter Day saints."  
  
"Suspect? Or Victim?"  
  
"We don't know. We'll just go and ask a few questions."


	6. Chapter 6

**Church Of The Latter Day Saints Mercer Island, **

**Seattle 19th December 2004 1.05 PM**  
  
They weren't surprised to find the church doors open. It was a cool day before Christmas but the rain that had threatened to break the skies had just started to fall. The air crackled with unspent energy as they stepped through the wide oak doorway.  
  
Wooden cushioned pews adjourned the red tilled floor, all facing up to the sparsely decorated alter. The window held stained glass images of children playing or woodland creatures and allowed a colourful light into the wide fresh room. "Nice digs," Mulder quipped at the sight of the gold lined pulpit to the left of the alter.  
  
"This should be the way to the vestry."  
  
Scully walked behind the Alter to a small hidden doorway that was covered with a beautifully detailed tapestry. She couldn't help a second glance as they passed it. Knocking on the door softly Mulder afforded the tapestry a quick look, but turned at the sound of the door opening.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Reverend Hank Pearson?" Mulder asked looking at the young boy who eyes them with undisguised curiosity.  
  
"I'm Hank Jr."  
  
"Is your father here?"  
  
"Not at the moment."  
  
"I'm Detective Frank Williams, This is Special Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. Do you know where we can find the Reverend?"  
  
"He's out on retreat and wont be back until tomorrow night."  
  
"Where is the retreat Hank?" Scully asked with a sweet smile she hoped would help him give her the right answer.  
  
"At the graveyard. Where my mother is buried."  
  
"Ok. Thank you."  
  
Mulder ended the conversation abruptly and took Scullys elbow to lead her out of the church. They climbed into the car in silence. She remembered the quick flashes of decisions he would make during an interrogation, a recollection of information he already knew, pieces of the puzzle falling together, finally. She knew better than to fight him and instead waited for his mind to process whatever it was it found in its own time.  
  
The I-90 was jam packed with traffic and finally the rain that was drizzling down thundered down from the dark skies pounding against the windscreen with ferocity Scully had rarely witnessed before.  
  
"Reverend Pearson's wife. Over a year ago she displayed symptoms of stigmata." His words were soft and pensive as if he was thinking aloud.  
  
"Stigmata?"  
  
"Seeping wounds on the hands and feet."  
  
"Was it discounted?"  
  
"By any and all that saw it."  
  
"Did you see it?"  
  
"No...I'm not that kind of detective anymore," he answered with a small smile. "Bishop Reilly, if I recall correctly, was the main disqualifier of her claims. Jared Wilks accused the Reverend's wife of instigating a distraction from the problems the church was experiencing at the time."  
  
"What kind of problems?" she asked intrigued.  
  
"An outbreak of teen suicides. In three weeks six teenagers from the Church of the Latter Day Saints committed suicide."  
  
"Was there an investigation?"  
  
"Yes of course, but all the kids were members of an after school club called The Beautiful People. Four other members from this club, who were not members of the Latter Day Saints church committed suicide. As all the victims left suicide notes, pertaining to a pact the investigation was closed."  
  
"How did the reverends wife die?"  
  
"She bled to death." Scully was shocked. Expecting to hear another murder claim she didn't prepare herself for other options. "Deep penetrating circular wounds about the size of a small railroad spike in each wrist between the ulna and radius bones...and similar wounds on the feet."  
  
"Stigmata wounds."  
  
"With traces of rust and iron in them."  
  
"Self inflicted?"  
  
"Reverend Pearson was investigated but with no evidence it was ruled as self inflicted."  
  
Finally the traffic broke off the interstate and Scully sat quietly as Mulder navigated the small winding streets to get to the precinct as fast as possible. He parked hap hazardly on the road outside and they went directly to the mock office David was still sitting in.  
  
"Your back. Did you speak to The Reverend?" he asked Scully who walked in first.  
  
"Where is Gary?" Mulder asked ignoring David's question.  
  
"He just went to his office to make a call."  
  
Mulder walked out of the room and Scully followed him across the station to Gary's office. David followed bewildered and Scully signalled at him to wait. There was too much information for her to relay in such a short time so she wanted him to hear it from Mulder in its entirety. Gary was just hanging up the phone in its cradle when the entourage walked in.  
  
"Frank, did you talk to the reverend?"  
  
"No. His son."  
  
"He wasn't there," Scully said.  
  
"Reverend Hank Pearson. As in husband to Helena Pearson," Mulder said letting Gary see the pieces for himself.  
  
"Helena Pearson? Helena Pearson?" Shane rolled the name around his tongue and Mulder could see the moment he recognised it. "Stigmata claim in 2003."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Stigmata?" David asked confused. "We need to get a warrant out on the good Reverend," Mulder said picking up the phone as Gary reached for the old case file.  
  
Scully led David out of the room as the orders were barked down the phone to gather the swat team. She explained to him the case Mulder told her about and how all the victims were connected to the Reverend. But David stood tall, his arms folded across his chest.  
  
"It's all a bit circumstantial Dana. We have no evidence to go in after this man. We'll never get a warrant."  
  
"I got Judge Maguire to sign off on a warrant he will fax though the reply straight away." They heard Gary saying to Mulder in the office behind them. "We should be ready to go within the hour."  
  
"Team is setting up in the basement. I want to go down and go over it with them."  
  
Mulder said as he stepped out of the office but his feet halted at the sight of Scully and David standing to closely speaking softly. Her hand was on his upper arm, applying a soft pressure he could almost feel in his own arm. He tore his eyes away from the traitorous sight and continued to walk past them.  
  
"Frank..." he looked back to where David called him. "Need a hand down in the basement?"  
  
"Sure David. This way." Scully watched them walk towards the stairs and turned to join Gary in the office.  
  
"Finally a break," he said as she claimed the seat across from him.  
  
"With circumstantial evidence I'm intrigued as to how you managed to get a warrant."  
  
"Judge Maguire is...was a golfing buddy of Bishop Reilly."  
  
"Ahh. I see."  
  
"We need to get this moving Agent Scully."  
  
"I understand. I hope we are right."  
  
"Nice to get back to DC for Christmas I guess."  
  
"Yes. That would be nice."  
  
Gary heard the insincerity in her voice, but her false smile told him she was trying to convince either him or herself so he left it lie.  
  
**Church Of The Latter Day Saints Mercer Island, **

**Seattle 19th December 2004 4.35 PM  
**  
Mulder knelt behind the car door and fixed his bulletproof vest around his chest. His police badge hung on a small link chain around his neck so he tucked it into a small pocket at the front of the vest. He glanced around the street and spotted the various members of the SWAT team in position watching him, waiting for his signal. Behind him Scully and David crouched low holding their guns by their sides and watching him too.  
  
Mulder leaned a little past the car and signalled for the first team to go and then a few seconds later the second team. It seemed like and age but was mere seconds when he pointed at the FBI Agents and jumped up dashing across the street not waiting to see if they followed. But as he crashed his body into the wall of the church he felt them land beside him.  
  
The first team broke through the door followed by the second team who searched the church. Mulder and Scully walked up to the vestry door and stood either side of the tapestry. He counted her out with three sharp nods of his head and on the final nod, she whipped the tapestry aside and he jumped in front of the open doorway.  
  
His gun was held out rigidly in front of him and he was about to shout Freeze when a loud shot rang out through the church, knocking him back against the alter and landing him beneath the pulpit. Scully watched in slow motion horror as he flew through the air and landed with a sickening thud. She focused on the source of the shot and turned to the open vestry doorway where Reverend Hank Pearson stood with a gun to his son's head.  
David rushed over to Mulder's fallen body and called for an ambulance. He checked for a pulse but the blood that he coughed up didn't make for hopeful thoughts. "Reverend...put the gun down." Scully said softly, aware of the SWAT team that was circling in behind her as the second team made their way outside to gain another entrance.  
  
"I give you my son..." Hank said, his hand shaking as he held the 9mm 's gun to his son's temple.  
  
"Reverend...put the gun down, no one else needs to get hurt."  
  
"Belief is a fickle thing..." He pressed the gun harder to his son's head and it was then that Scully noted the serene expression on the kids face. He was staring straight ahead his eyes open wide and not blinking. He knelt on the floor with his hands behind his back but Scully couldn't tell if he was tied up or not.  
  
"Reverend put the gun down or I will be forced to shoot you!" she yelled forcefully but as she took a step forward the Reverend pulled the trigger.  
  
The sound was deafening in the small vestry but she wasn't prepared for the sight of the kid's body slumping to the ground after the implosion of his skull, as the bullet left a large exit wound and lodged in the concrete wall.  
  
The Reverend put the gun to his own head but this time Scully was quicker and she shot him directly in the shoulder, knocking him back against the desk with a moan.  
  
"No, it's not supposed to end like this."  
  
"Never is."  
  
"It can't end like this."  
  
He sat up with a last gasp of air one arm holding his injured shoulder, while the other one faced the gun up to Scully, but before he could pull the trigger Scully spotted the unmistakeable red dot on his chest. It was with a muffled moan that his body crumpled to the ground half lying over his dead son. Scully took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts and rushed out to Mulders side. She pushed her way past the small crowd that were standing over him and was surprised to see David leaning over him giving CPR. "The bulled skimmed his vest but went into his left side...he stopped breathing, I think he may have punctured a lung. He was coughing up blood"  
  
"How long has he been out?"  
  
"Since the shot."  
  
She took over the CPR, letting David pump his chest as she held his nose and breathed into his open mouth. His vest had been torn off and discarded to the floor over his head. Blood soaked through his light blue shirt, the dark stain spreading as David pumped him.  
  
"Block off that wound, don't do the compressions anymore," she yelled, still breathing into his mouth ignoring the blood on her lips from breathing into his mouth. The EMT's rushed in and a member of the swat led them to Mulders fallen form. They immediately took over pushing Scully away, and placing an oxygen mask over his face. Mulder's eyes were open but glazed over, seeing nothing of what was going on around him.  
  
"Entry wound on the left side of the body. Just above the fourth rib," one of the technicians shouted.  
  
"Blood in the mask."  
  
"He's going to need to be intubated."  
  
They scrambled for their equipment and one of them covered his wound while the other deftly sliced a small hole in Mulder's throat before inserting a thin hallow tube into it, feeding it low enough to get to his lungs.  
  
"Ok, tube in."  
  
"This lung is definitely collapsed, we gotta get him out to the ER now."  
  
Scully saw everything happen in slow motion as they hoisted him onto a gurney and hurriedly wheeled him out to the waiting ambulance. They had almost gotten him packed away when she suddenly realised she needed to be with him. Rushing out to the door with David on her heels she climbed into the back and sat next to the technician.  
  
"Dana?" David said from the door.  
  
"I have to go David, I have to go."  
  
He nodded with a grim smile but slammed the door shut and watched the ambulance drive off, it's siren loud and ominous as its lights twisted brightly in the early evening darkness. Turning to the SWAT team, he ordered the area to be cordoned off and called for the coroner. He could feel everything from the past few days coming to a head and after waiting for it for so long he wasn't sure if he wanted it anymore.  
  
**Seattle General Hospital **

**19th December 2004 5.05 PM**  
  
Scully was pushed out of the cubicle as the team of doctors worked on him. They tried to convince her to wait in the waiting room but she steadfastly refused to let Mulder leave her sight. The intubated tube was connected to a hand pump to help him breathe and a young nurse counted out his breathes with minute movements of her head before pumping more air into him. Her head swam with familiar terms as the doctors worked on him but all she could do was listen.  
  
"Entry wound through third and fourth ribs and then into his lung."  
  
"He's bleeding!"  
  
"Suction."  
  
The surreal sound of the suction pulling loose blood out of his lung and clearing spaces for the doctors to see stung her ears. She stepped closer and tried to help but another nurse gently pushed her back.  
  
"Four units of O-Neg, he's loosing too much."  
  
"Blood pressure is too low."  
  
"He's A Positive..." Scully said loudly. "His blood type is A Positive."  
  
"Four units...make it now!" The IV was connected to his arm and the blood started to flow, but with an unseen wound still open his pressure remained low. The doctor made the relatively small entry wound bigger with a careful swipe of the scalpel blade so he could fit four fingers into the new hole. Another doctor stood by Mulder's head shining a light into his eyes.  
  
"Hello...wake up, can you hear me? What's his name?"  
  
"Mulder...I mean Frank Williams. His name is Frank Williams."  
  
"Hello Frank can you hear me? Move your toes if you can hear me Frank." Scully's eyes darted to his feet but they remained still.  
  
"Suction...clamp...hold this." Her attention was dragged back to the bullet wound where another doctor took the clamp and held it in place to stop the bleeding. "I see it...lower left lung lobe has been punctured, pleura is torn. Get me a kit!" he shouted.  
  
The small stainless steel kidney shaped bowl was thrust in front of him and while his colleagues held the clamps in place to stop blood getting to the lungs, he quickly sewed up the wound. Pulling on the last stitch they cleared his lungs of any blood and pumped more oxygen into them. They inflated and deflated with ease so he removed the clamp, whilst everyone waited with their breath held for five agonising seconds as his blood travelled along newly sewn patches but his blood pressure didn't rise as expected.  
  
"Roll him over, let me take a look at the exit wound." Two nurses pulled his body towards then so that he was laying on his right side, his bare back exposed to the doctor.  
  
"Large exit wound higher than expected." This time he didn't need to make the wound any bigger as it was big enough for his exploration. "Can you see it?" Scully asked anxiously wanting to grab a pair of latex gloves and dig in herself.  
  
"Left atrium, blood vessel...I'm going to need another clamp."  
  
Quickly he clamped the small vessel and sewed up the small wound, releasing the clamp and for a second time they waited for his blood pressure to rise. Seconds seems to stop for Scully but finally the figures on the monitor slowly began to rise and she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Okay...he's as stable as we can get him down here...Get him sewn up and lets get him a CT Scan of his chest and make sure we didn't miss anything."  
  
A nurse worked on pulling the jagged edges of Mulder's skin together in a makeshift way before the gurney was wheeled away to the lift. Scully turned to follow it, but suddenly realised someone was calling her name and she saw Detective Gary Shane walking towards her.  
  
"Agent Scully, where is Frank?"  
  
"He's stable." She touched Gary on the shoulder as he stood next to her in time to see him disappear into the lift. "He's gone to the Radiology lab."  
  
"Pearson shot him?"  
  
"Then shot his son in the head. He tried to shoot me but someone got to him first."  
  
"Agent McLane is processing the scene as we speak."  
  
"Did Pearson survive?"  
  
"No. Shot in the chest straight through...died on the scene."  
  
"Does anyone know what happened?"  
  
"McLane said he found a diary in the vestry and it has detailed plans of how to go through with each murder. His son helped him."  
  
"Oh god." She sighed with him and followed him to the seats by the door.  
  
"Is Frank going to be okay?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"Yeah. He's going to hurt like hell for a while but he'll be fine."  
  
"I understand you two had a history."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"He mentioned that you worked together before but it ended badly."  
  
"Yes. Something like that."  
  
"Well when this kind of thing happens it brings it all back into focus don't you think?"  
  
"Yes I do."  
  
The silence fell between them again but this time neither of them disturbed it, letting it wrap around them keeping their thoughts warm. Hours passed slowly with assured monotony until finally a nurse came over and told them he had been transferred into the ICU. They went there directly but were told only one could go in at a time. Gary looked at Scully and was about to let her go in when her phone rang.  
  
"You go in. I'll take this," she said stepping back and pulling her phone from her pocket. "Scully?"  
  
"Dana. It's David."  
  
"How's it going out there?"  
  
"Fine. How is Detective Williams?"  
  
"He's been stabilised. His left lung was punctured but it's been fixed. He should be fine."  
  
"Good, that's great news."  
  
"Detective Shane said you found a diary," she asked leaning against the wall outside Mulders room.  
  
"Yes it details all the murders and how they were performed."  
  
"Revenge."  
  
"Yes. After the three men discounted his wife's claims of stigmata, then she bled to death I guess he just cracked."  
  
"It still doesn't explain how he got them to remain still while he crucified one and beheaded another."  
  
"No it doesn't, but I've only read through it a little. We can safely say there will be no more of these murders." "Have you called AD Skinner?" She pushed herself away from the wall as the door opened and Gary walked out. He smiled grimly at her and waited for her phone conversation to finish.  
  
"Yes just now. He said he will look forward to our report when we get back to DC."  
  
"Okay David."  
  
"Should I book flights for tonight?" he asked and she could tell by the expectant tone in his voice that he already knew her answer.  
  
"No. Leave it until tomorrow. Anyway I'm about to go in and see Detective Williams. I'll call you back."  
  
"Bye Dana." She slipped the phone back into her pocket and turned to face Gary.  
  
"How is he?"  
  
"He's unconscious. In considerable shock and he don't look too hot but they assure me he will be fine." He offered her a small smile but she stepped past him to look in the small window on the door. "I'm going back to the Church. I'll speak to you later Agent Scully."  
  
Scully nodded slowly then walked into the door not waiting for Gary to leave. She approached the bed and was amazed at how familiar it all seemed when it had been over four years since she walked up to a hospital bed where Mulder lay. Reaching out she stoked his hair away from his face, letting her fingers brush against his scalp, touching his gently to let him know she was there.  
  
"Hey..." she whispered.  
  
The thick bandages that were wrapped around his torso covering the bullet wounds on his chest and back were startlingly white and were accompanied by the smaller bandage on his throat where the intubation was. Her fingers tenderly touched his neck, wanting to feel his pulse for herself, even though she could hear the heart monitor beeping over his head.  
  
"Thanks Mulder," she whispered. "It could have been me."  
Her other hand rolled down his arm to take his fingers as she sat on the small leather chair beside his bed. His skin was warm and soft and she interlocked their fingers to get closer to him. Hours passed and nurses walked by inquiring if she needed anything but she just wanted to stay with him for as long as she could. They worked around her, checking his bandages and stitches, making sure none of them moved. His vitals were recorded and his pain meds reduced slightly, and it was nearing half past nine when a nurse touched her shoulder to tell her an Agent McLane was waiting in the corridor to speak to her. Scully extracted herself and walked out to him, rubbing the heel of her hands into her eyes.  
  
"How is he?" David asked as soon as she closed the door behind her.  
  
"He's stable. Just waiting for him to wake up."  
  
"That's good." He looked at her tired dark eyes and small shivering cold body. "Do you want to go back to the motel and change?"  
  
"No. I'm staying here," she answered firmly.  
  
"What is it about this guy Dana? What is he to you?" David was tired of the dark, tired of waiting for the pendulum to swing so he pushed it.  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"David please..." she pleaded with him, imploring for the time to relax, to calm down but he stood firmly before her. Reaching out to her he gathered her into a hug and she accepted the warm embrace. "Just give me some time."  
  
"Okay Dana." His hand stroked her hair and he pressed a small kiss onto her forehead. "I know something is going on...I just don't want to see you get hurt."  
  
"Don't worry David."  
  
"I will worry. You know I will."  
  
"Yeah I know." "Do you want me to wait with you?" he asked knowing she was about to spend the night here in the ICU ward at Seattle General hospital.  
  
"No thanks. I'll be fine." David released her from his hug but held onto her hands.  
  
"This is going to be one of those late night stakeout stories isn't it?" he joked loving to see the small smile traverse her lips.  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"Goodnight Dana." He let go of her hands and walked away. Watching him for a while she soon returned to Mulders side. She took his hand again and sat back into the chair. A nurse walked in to check his vitals again and she smiled warmly at her.  
  
"Would you like a blanket Dana? It can get pretty cold in here."  
  
"No thanks I'm fine."  
  
"Well give me a call if you need anything."  
  
The room was silent again except for the soothing sound of his heartbeat as the monitor beeped rhythmically into the stillness of the room. She rubbed his hand with her thumb and watched his face for any sign of consciousness but it all became too much for and she drifted off into a restless sleep.  
  
Faint impressions of people walking around her and a heavy warm feeling all over her body soon were enough to drag herself back into the waking world. Her eyes blinked heavily and she snuggled deeper into the blue blanket that one of the nurses must have draped over her. Glancing at the window, she saw it was still dark so she knew she couldn't have been asleep for too long. Her eyes darted back to Mulder who was still out. Sitting up on the chair she pulled the blanket tighter around her suppressing the small shiver that shook her body. Taking his hand again she let his warmth seep into her and reached over to stroke his hair.  
  
"Mulder, you have to wake up, you can't stay there forever."  
  
His brow twitched and creased into a small frown. She stilled her hands and watched him, willing him to come back to her.  
  
"Mulder? Can you hear me?"  
  
"Leave me alone...all of you...leave me alone."  
  
She froze. The words that had haunted her since she first heard them four years ago in his apartment stuck her to the ground and rattled her body with fear. She knew then instantly that Mulder had never gotten over it, that his nightmares were still there, still tormented him and ruined his life.  
  
"Mulder, its me Scully. Can you hear me?"  
  
She gently squeezed his shoulder as his head lolled to the side. His frown deepened and his lips moved again, but this time no sound came out. He blinked slowly at first as if trying it for the first time and eventually his eyes opened enough to see her standing over him. His face screwed up in fear at the sight of her standing over him and he tried to roll away but he couldn't move.  
  
"No, leave me alone."  
  
"Mulder...it's me."  
  
Her voice penetrated through the haze that tainted his vision and slowly his body relaxed. Cautiously turning to her he looked up to her face and read what he expected. The worry and fear were obvious but the anger more prominent.  
  
"Do you know where you are Mulder?"  
  
"Heaven?" he said with a raspy voice and a small smile.  
  
"Not quite."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"You were shot. Damaged lung and fractured ribs."  
  
"I was wondering why it hurt to breathe."  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
"Roughed up a bit...but I guess I'm going to survive right?" "Yeah you will survive." They shared smiles as she brushed her fingers through his hair. "I better call the doctor and tell him you're awake."  
  
"Wait Scully..." She turned back to face him, her hand still on his.  
  
"Thanks for waiting with me."  
  
"That's okay."  
  
"Reverend Pearson, is he dead?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Don't worry about that Mulder, just concentrate on getting better."  
  
"You're going back to DC aren't you."  
  
It wasn't a question. She didn't have a reply anyway, not the one he wanted to hear. Instead she turned and walked out the door. Soon after her exit, doctors came in and tested his eyes, pulse and blood pressure. They tried explaining all the procedures that were performed on him but the words flew over his head. He was alive, he was breathing albeit painfully and Scully was leaving. That was all that swam around his mind over and over until finally the medical team left and he was on his own. He waited for her to come back to speak to her again but the pain killers were making him drowsy and without choice he wandered back to a physically painless sleep.


	7. FINAL CHAPTER!

_Sorry about the delay. It was my birthday this weekend so I was too busy with drunken debauchery to upload the final chapter...bhut here ya go!_

**The Sleepy Hallow Inn **

**20th December 2004 8.06 AM**  
  
Scully slid the key into the lock and pushed the stiff door open with a loud creak. Almost immediately after she closed it there was a soft knock from the other side. She knew it was David and he had been waiting up for her so she beckoned for him to call in.  
  
"How is he?" David asked immediately watching as she kicked off her shoes and went in to the small bathroom to switch on the shower.  
  
"He's going to be fine. After some rehab."  
  
"Good."  
  
A silence heavy with unspoken thoughts clung to the air threatening to overspill if it weren't addressed. She removed her jacket and walked into the bathroom. Closing and locking the door behind her she almost wished David would force her to speak. She wanted to tell him everything and let him know exactly what was going on, but she just didn't have the strength. Eventually emerging barefoot and wrapped in her robe she saw him sitting on the edge of her bed. Sympathy flowed through her suddenly so she walked over and sat next to him. He nudged her with his shoulder, catching her weary eyes with his own.  
  
"How are you?"  
  
"I'm okay David."  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Yeah...I will be."  
  
"So...should I book the flight for today?"  
  
"Yes. After lunch. I need to go back to the precinct and tie up some loose ends."  
  
"Get some rest Dana. I'll arrange everything."  
  
Thankful for his taking charge Scully stood and went to the head of the bed to pull down the sheets. David walked out already grabbing his phone and booking flights.  
  
The cool sheets stung her legs but she forced them to stay in the bed and warm it up. His words circled her mind again in the raspy voice he used. All this time he had battled alone, ignoring the warning signs, running when it got too tough and now she was leaving. Is that what he wanted? He already told her she couldn't fix him that; she didn't have the solutions but it didn't seem that he was searching too hard for them himself.  
  
She tossed in the bed for hours rolling thoughts around with her mind as she tried to gain new perspective, but to no avail. Finally giving up, she dragged her tired body out of the bed and decided on another shower to wake her up. She dressed quickly and called David. He was on his way back to the motel and said he'd meet her in the diner across the road for lunch.  
Waiting for him in a window booth she ordered eggs on toast and a glass of orange juice. Her meal had just arrived when David sat across from her with a warm smile.  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
"Tired."  
  
"I went to see Frank." Her eyes shot up to him, a piece of toast hovering before her mouth. "He was asking for you but I said you were packing and sorting out reports."  
  
"I'll go see him before we leave."  
  
"I'm not sure there will be time. Flight leaves in an hour and a half."  
  
"But David I have to finish my reports at the precinct."  
  
"I filed reports and told Detective Shane you'd fax through yours form DC."  
  
"I need to see the files from the case."  
  
"I have our copies."  
  
He seemed to have covered all the usual things at the end of a case but she wasn't happy at having it all planned out for her. She bit into her toast and dropped the rest onto the plate. Slapping her hands together to get rid of the remaining crumbs.  
  
"Give me the keys."  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked as he fished them out of his pocket and held them out to her.  
  
"I'm going to see...Frank." She dashed out of the diner and cursed the midmorning traffic for slowing her journey.

Eventually the hospital was in sight and she parked in the set down area abandoning the car without care for a ticket. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was quarter past one as she stepped off the lift and made her way to his room. She stood outside and smoothed her hand down her top before opening the door slowly in case he was asleep. He didn't move as she closed the door behind her and crossed the room with careful steps.  
  
"Mulder?" He made no response. "I came to say goodbye." She was almost glad he was asleep, knowing how hard it would be to leave if he was awake. "My flight is in a little under an hour so I can't stay long."  
  
Her hand reached out and tentatively touched his arm. He was facing away from her but she could see his eyes were closed and his chest moving in slow shallow breaths. Vivid memories of the last time she had stood by his side in the hospital haunted her but she pushed them aside.  
  
"I wish...I wish..." Her voice faltered but she choked back her tears and continued. "I wish I could stay longer...I wish you would ask me to help you. I know I could if you let me."  
  
A nurse came in and stalled at the sight of Scully leaning over Mulders still form but she walked over and started to take his vitals. Scully rubbed her cheeks with her fingers to hide the stray tears, but the nurse had seen it all before and knew what had happened.  
  
"Did he sleep all night?" Scully asked.  
  
"Yes, woke earlier for pain meds but went back down then. It's normal for the body to want to relax after what he's been through."  
  
"Yes." Scully looked away from the young nurse and back to Mulder.  
  
"Goodbye Mulder. I'll miss you."  
  
Slowly she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple before standing and rushing out. The nurse looked after her in confusion wondering why she called him Mulder but thought little of it as she left herself.  
  
Mulder rolled his head over at the sound of silence after the door thuded softly shut. His voice caught in his throat and as he tried to take a deep breath to call out, a sharp stinging pain centred in his chest and quickly deflated his injured lung. Hastily, ignoring the pain he reached for the call button. He pressed it roughly and held it down until the nurse came in. "Get her back! Get her back!"  
  
"Who? Who is it Frank?"  
  
"Scully...the lady who was here a minute ago...get her back!" he yelled as much as he could without rupturing something.  
  
The nurse ran out to the corridor and caught a glimpse of Scully as the elevator doors closed. Dashing for the stairwell she burst through the door bouncing down the steps as fast as she dared shooting out at the ground floor with a burst of energy that surprised the people in the corridor. She rushed to the elevator and saw it was empty so she ran for the front door only to see Scully driving off into the city traffic.  
  
Returning to Mulder with considerably less gusto than she left with she shook her head at him as she crossed the small room to his bed.  
  
"I'm afraid she's gone." Mulder closed his eyes against her concerned face and let his head fall back onto the pillow. "Can't you call her?"  
  
"No...she's gone..." His head fell back to the side facing the window and the nurse left in silence.  
  
**Georgetown Washington DC **

**24th December 2004 9.15 PM**  
  
Scully's apartment was adorned with the usual Christmas decorations, gold shining stars hanging from the ceiling and a real six-foot tree in the corner by the window. The lights lay in a puddle by its foot with David hunched over them trying earnestly to undo the knots from the previous year. Scully searched through the boxes of tree decorations for the tinsel strips and baubles to hang on the full branches.  
  
She sat on the edge of the couch and sipped her cup of hot chocolate; her heart not in the task. Somehow her mother had been convinced that she wanted to spend Christmas at home, but David took no such hints. He arrived at her doorstep a little over an hour ago with a grin and insisted on helping her decorate when he saw the boxes scattered around her living room. She poured him a glass of wine and succumbed to his force, handing him the bundle of lights with a smile. Watching him now fight with the knots she was almost glad for the company. "So why aren't you spending the night with Janet?" she asked.  
  
"Janet is stuck in Boston. Can't get a flight out because of the storms."  
  
"Will she make it tomorrow?"  
  
"I hope so. We're supposed to be eating Christmas Day dinner at her parents and they would be disappointed if she couldn't make it. What are you doing for dinner tomorrow?"  
  
The question she was expecting him to ask since he arrived this evening finally made an appearance. She sipped her hot chocolate to give the unhurried air of non-chalance before she answered.  
  
"My family are all gone out to San Diego to my brothers house. So I'll make something here and relax for a while."  
  
"You mean stay in on your own and dwell in the loneliness that's been festering around you since we got back from Seattle?"  
  
"I'm not lonely David. I just want to be on my own. Is that so hard to understand?"  
  
"Yes." He smiled grimly watching as she took another sip of her drink and sat back on his hands. He took a deep breath about to say something but the knock at the door stalled his words.  
  
"Santa?" she joked.  
  
"No Dana, he only comes to see good little girls." She tossed a pillow at him as she stood to get the door. "He might be here for me though."  
  
She opened the door a little and peered around, not knowing what to expect. Her face fell at the sight of him standing tall and somewhat guiltily in her hallway.  
  
"Are you going to invite me in?" Mulder's voice was whispered into the hallway through a half smile and shoulders covered in snow.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she managed to say as her shock subsided enough for her to speak.  
  
"I came to see you."  
Slowly she stepped back and he walked in. He stepped around her without touching her and his eyes absorbed the scene that was set out before him. David sat sipping wine with the lights still bundled in his lap and the tree was empty with boxes of expectant decorations beneath it. As soon as David saw him he stood to his full height, letting the lights fall to the floor.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked his voice laced with tension as his hands grabbed his hips.  
  
"David, don't." Scully closed the door and turned to meet them both standing almost toe-to-toe in her living room.  
  
"Hi David," Mulder said holding his hand out waiting to be shaken.  
  
"Frank Williams." David took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly.  
  
"It's Fox actually. Fox Mulder."  
  
Their shaking hands froze as David stilled, his eyes moving slowly over to Scully who stood to the side her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes closed.  
  
"Dana?"  
  
"It's true. This is Fox Mulder."  
  
David snapped his hand back and couldn't help being annoyed at the smile on Mulders face.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I eh, I wasn't sure what was happening. I'm sorry David," Scully stammered.  
  
"Well I have to admit it explains a lot of what was going on last week."  
  
"It was quite a shock. She didn't know I was there." Mulder took a step back making a circle with the three of them in the living room.  
  
"I bet it was a shock."  
David caught the stolen glances between the both of them and decided it was time to leave. He took his coat off the couch and draped it over his arm. Scully stepped over to the door with him and opened it.  
  
"Do you want me to stay?" he asked in hushed tones.  
  
"No David it's okay. I'll be fine." She squeezed his arm and smiled warmly at him.  
  
"Call me if you need me." He winked and walked out pulling on his coat.  
  
Scully turned back intro the living room where she saw Mulder glancing around the room. His eyes absorbed the familiar furniture with only a few additions since he had last stood in her living room. Different magazines adorned the table and a newer computer on the desk but then he expected as much. His fish tank on her sideboard by her kitchen entrance caught his attention; dragging him towards it with the strong desire to touch it, feel its cold glass under his slender fingers. He didn't imagine the fish swimming inside were the same ones he had left in her care four years ago but that wasn't what mattered. The mere fact that they had sustained a prime position in her home was what warmed his heart.  
  
"Mulder?" she asked again making him pull his eyes around to face her. Then at the look in his eyes that she couldn't place she said, "Frank?"  
  
"No Scully...don't say that...don't..." he took a step closer to her but his head hung low in shame, hiding his eyes, pushing back his emotions.  
  
"I don't understand, what's going on?"  
  
"I came to ask you...something."  
  
Scully somehow managed to break her gaze at him and walked over to the sofa. She took the still warm mug from the table and held it with both hands, concentrating on the bubbly froth on the top of her drink rather than face him. He followed her to the couch and sat next to her.  
  
"I need your help."  
  
"My help Mulder?" she sneered trying no to sound as harsh as she was sure it was appearing. "I don't have the solutions to all the problems."

"I deserved that." He conceded her point with a wry smile but persisted moving himself from the couch to the table in front of her. "I'm sorry Scully...what can I say...I was wrong."  
  
"About what Mulder? Tell me exactly what is it you want from me?"  
  
"Four years ago...I had an experience." He stammered with his words searching for the right ones and still struggling to push them past his lips.  
  
"I tried my best to face it but it hurt too much...so I ran. I ran away from my life, I ran away from my problems and I ran away from you."  
  
Scully looked up at him from over the rim of her drink wanting to toss it to the side and grab him into a hug, but instead she just looked.  
  
"I thought I could deal with it and in some ways I did...by pushing it away I found I could ignore it, function normally, hold down a job..." he laughed derisively. "It took me a while to do even that."  
  
"Mulder-."  
  
"No let me finish. But they came back. They always come back. I stopped sleeping, I stopped living...I stopped caring." He paused and took a deep shaky breath. "Until you arrived. The other night in my apartment. It was the first good nights sleep I had in four years."  
  
Her eyes sprang up in surprise as she recalled the feeling of lying back against his warm body, the contented feeling of his chest breathing against her back as he slept deeply and soundly.  
  
"I want more of it...I want to sleep like that again."  
  
"You want to sleep with me again? That's how I can help you?" she said surprised.  
  
"No...well yes...but that's not what I mean!" He laughed, happy for the release of tension and let out another breath from the bottom of his lungs.  
  
"What is it you want from me?" she asked in a timid voice too afraid to know too afraid not to.  
  
"I'm going to do this properly...I'm going to get help...but I don't think I can do it alone...I don't think I want to."

"Are you seeking this help in...Seattle?"  
  
"No. No I've arranged to meet a Dr. Keith Morrison here in DC twice weekly for two months then on a provisional basis after that...depending on progress."  
  
"Here in DC? You're moving to DC?"  
  
"Scully I've never spoken of...about...what happened to me. I never told a soul. You're the only one who knows, probably the only one who cares." He looked away from her his feet bouncing to an irregular rhythm, as the hands that lay clasped between his knees fidgeted. She put her cup down and took his hands in hers. But he still refused to look up. "I will understand if you don't want to but I'm asking...for your help."  
  
"Mulder," she said reaching out to his chin to force him to look up. "Of course I will help you."  
  
All of a sudden the emotions were too much for him and he let out a breathy, shaking sob that forced tears to fall down his cheeks. He wept loudly letting his head fall down again and she guided him onto the couch. His arms snaked around her waist and his head fell onto her lap. She rubbed his back feeling the bandages that were still there and threaded her fingers through his hair as he cried openly and fearlessly.  
  
They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity and it was as if his tears dried up, his cries became dry and raspy but his body still shook with emotion. He began to shiver with all the emotion spent. She touched his cheek and wiped away the damp trails of his tears.  
  
"Mulder, sit up, let me get you a drink."  
  
Silently he sat up wincing with the small pain moving caused his chest. Sitting back against the couch he buried his face into his hands and rubbed it vigorously, shaking his hair and letting his fingers lock at the back of his neck. She returned by his side with a cup of hot chocolate for him and he took it with a grim smile. He sipped it gingerly and licked the traces off his lips before putting it down on the coffee table.  
  
"Nothing like a hot chocolate after a barrage of emotions!" he said lightly, looking into the flickering flames of the fire.  
  
"I could make it a little Irish chocolate if you'd like?" "Sounds good to me." She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of whiskey. "Always keep one of those here?"  
  
"You never know." She poured a healthy shot into his drink and another into her own. He smiled at her and held out his cup for her to clink with.  
  
"Here's to...to...painful times ahead?" he suggested.  
  
"Light at the end of the tunnel?" she countered.  
  
"New friendships?"  
  
"Old friendships renewed?"  
  
"Here's to you Scully...for letting me in."  
  
"Here's to you Mulder for coming back in."  
  
They clinked their cups together and watched each other as they sipped the now sour drink.  
  
"Whoa that's more than a little Irish right there." He said sipping his drink again. She smiled and put her cup down before walking to the fire to stoke the dying flames. Throwing a few more logs on she passed the bundle of lights to him.  
  
"Here seeing as you ran my last helper, you can untangle these."  
  
"Thanks Scully."  
  
He put down his strong drink and sat down onto the floor. She caught the small wince as he crouched by the tree and started to sort out the lights.  
  
"How is your chest?"  
  
"It's a little tender."  
  
"Can I take a look at it?"  
  
"It's a little soon to get my clothes off but if you insist..." She shook her head as she knelt down beside him and helped him take his shirt off. They pulled it gently over his head and he moaned a little as he stretched his arm up over his head.  
  
"Now it's your turn!"  
  
"This is gonna sting..." she peeled the bandage gently back pulling the sticky tape off his back. the bruising was still evident and it was slightly swollen but the stitches were magnificent, small and linear leaving little scar tissue. "It looks good. Does it hurt?" She pressed her fingers against his hot skin testing the wound with a little pressure.  
  
"Only if you keep pressing it!"  
  
"Sorry." She stuck his bandage back on and handed him back his sweater before rolling back onto her heals. "It should heal up completely. Any trouble breathing?"  
  
"No. It's a little shallow still and I do get out of breath a bit easier than before...so I guess yes...a little trouble breathing."  
  
"Don't worry that will go." Moving back to the couch she leaned her back against it and pulled the box of decorations closer.  
  
A silence fell between them and they both relaxed into it lazily enjoying the familiar sensation of each other's company. Eventually Mulder connected the lights up to the plug and had them all lit and untied.  
  
"Ta daa!"  
  
"Thanks Mulder, you know where they go."  
  
With a grunt he stood and began to drape the lights around the tree starting at the top and coiling it down to the last branch. When he was finished he stood back to admire his handiwork and smiled at Scully who was now standing beside him.  
  
"Here," she said handing him the small white angel to perch on the top branch. He took it from her small hands and tenderly sat it into its place. Joining her side once more he caught her sad smile and draped an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Do you think I can make it?" he said softly not looking down at her. "I know you can." Squeezing her shoulders he turned her into his chest for a hug and she felt the shaky breath he took in. "What are you going to do Mulder?"  
  
"What do you mean?" His hug loosened enough to look down to her face.  
  
"I mean about work? Living? What are you going to do?"  
  
"I have a lot of money saved. I'll get an apartment somewhere. As for a job...I don't know...I haven't really thought about it."  
  
"You haven't?"  
  
"Well I wasn't sure if you were going to help me Scully. All I knew was I was going to ask you...if you said no...I would have hightailed it back to Seattle."  
  
"Hightailed it?" she said laughing.  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"What about the FBI?" she said tentatively.  
  
"I dunno Scully." He released her totally and sat back onto the couch.  
  
"Look forget it, you don't need to worry about that now." He glanced up at her with a disbelieving expression. "There are some people you need to call though."  
  
"The Lone Gunmen?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I called them this morning. I needed to make sure you were still living here."  
  
"They never said. I spoke to Frohike this morning."  
  
"I asked them not to." Mulder looked a little sheepish.  
  
"What about Skinner?"  
  
"No...I haven't quite gotton the courage to call him yet." "He'd be pleased to hear from you."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Are you pleased?"  
  
"I eh, yes I'm pleased."  
  
"You don't sound to sure." He stood up and approached her.  
  
"I'm confused," she admitted. "It's all so fast."  
  
"I know. Look maybe I should go." He reached to get his coat but she stalled him with a hand on his arm.  
  
"It's late Mulder." She sighed unsure if she wanted to continue with what she was about to say. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I was going to get a room in town."  
  
"Stay here. You're exhausted." Just then he yawned and they both laughed. "When did you leave Seattle?"  
  
"Yesterday. My flight was delayed and they lost my baggage. Hence I came here empty handed."  
  
"Look just stay here. It's Christmas Eve. What kind of Christian would I be if I turned you away?" He smiled and dropped his coat back onto the chair.  
  
"Okay. Thanks."  
  
"Get some rest Mulder, we can talk in the morning."  
  
She led him into her room and threw back the covers. In the bathroom she fetched a glass of water and returned to see him sitting on the soft mattress staring at the pastel coloured carpet.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
He nodded as she reached past him to put the glass on the dressing table. Without warning his arms grabbed her and he pulled her over to him. His head pressed into his stomach and his arms overlapped around her back but he squeezed her tighter and rocked her gently. She let her hands fall onto his back one of them tracing soft circles onto his shoulders the other reaching into his hair.  
  
"I can't believe you are here Scully. I can't believe I am."  
  
"Everything is going to be okay," she whispered kissing his head through his hair.  
  
"Is it?"  
  
"Its going to be tough Mulder. It's going to be really tough but I'm here for you. What ever you need all you need to do is ask."  
  
"Thanks Scully." His voice was muffled against her stomach and his breathing uneven. She wasn't sure if he was crying but she didn't care. All she knew was the comfort he was seeking was in her touch so she offered it all to him.  
  
Eventually he released her and let her step back. She helped him off with his sweater knowing the discomfort he was in, but when he kicked off his shoes and undid his trousers she looked away, making an issue of closing the curtains. The soft bed moved beneath his weight as he curled beneath the covers. She stood at the door while he got comfortable and switched off the light.  
  
"Goodnight Mulder."  
  
"Night."  
  
Scully returned to the living room and cleaned up the empty decoration boxes. The twinkling lights brought a sense of peace to the room as she gathered the cups and washed the saucepan she'd used to make the hot chocolate. As she placed the clean cups into the cupboard she froze at the sound of a subdued yell. It was guttural and low but the source was unmistakable. Dropping everything she rushed into her bedroom where she saw Mulder had kicked away the covers and was balled up near the foot of the bed.  
Tentatively she reached out to him but he bucked away. His skin was cold and clammy and she knew she had to wake him rather than leave him  
  
"Mulder!" she said more firmly this time and when he flinched under her touch, she only pressed harder. His voice got stronger and his yell more painful. She climbed onto the bed next to him and curled around him, almost spooning his hunched form. "Shhhh...I got you."  
  
He tried to get away from her but she clung to him tightly, whispering soft words into his ears and rubbing small circles into his chest. Eventually he stopped moving and his breathing became slow and shallow. She held him for a moment longer and made sure he was calm before letting go. Getting off the bed, Scully made him drag his body back up to the top and lie on the pillows. Pulling the quilt back over him, she covered his shivering body and was about to turn away when his arm reached out to her.  
  
"Stay..." he whispered, his eyes closed and his mouth hidden beneath the blanket. "Stay with me please..."  
  
She couldn't refuse so she nodded.  
  
"I'll be back in a second."  
  
She went out to the living room and locked up before returning to his side by the bed. She pulled off her sweater and stepped out of her jeans as they pooled by her feet. He lifted back the covers for her to climb into and smiled at the sight of his own Sonics t-shirt on her.  
  
"Sonics fan Scully?"  
  
"Yeah go Sonics."  
  
She leaned onto the bed and lay down flat next to him. He rested a tentative arm around her waist. His head found a comfy spot on her shoulder. With his body pressed next to hers, she could feel his whole form shivering with cold or fear; she wasn't sure which. Her arm reached around his back and pulled him closer and he leaned in as her other hand found his chest.  
  
"Get some sleep Mulder. I'm here for you."  
  
"I know Scully. I know."  
  
The End. © Skinfull 2004  
  
Thanks to jmillington for all the wonderful info on Seattle and the entire team of medical guru's on Mulders Refuge for the medical advice and facts. I also consulted The Online Skeleton that can be found at: http:www-personal.une.edu.au/pbrown3/ostel.html  
  
I always find religion an interesting aspect for an Xfile with so many choices and phenomenon attributed to the search for god. I apologise in advance for any offence caused I can only assure you it was unintentional.  
  
I had no beta save for the delectable Janet who pointed me in the right direction concerning scenes and snowfalls! Thanks Janet, this one is for you...now you owe me one! And Lisa I know this mightn't be enough MT for you but wait till you see what I got brewing for you next...  
  
BTW the prequel for this is nearly finished but not posted and the sequel has been started...I went for the George Lucas Method of Writing!


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